2 charged in memory care center assault; investigators say it was over a demotion

 

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Two people are facing criminal charges in connection with a February assault at a suburban memory care facility. Investigators say one employee got a relative to beat one of her colleagues over a demotion she'd received at the care center.

According to a pair of criminal complaints filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court, Menomonee Falls police responded to reports of a battery at The Auberge at Oak Village shortly before 9 a.m. on Feb. 26.

When officers arrived, witnesses told them a man wearing a hoodie and mask had entered the facility and immediately punched an employee in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground. The attacker then "continued to strike her 5 or 6 more times in the face and upper torso."

Workers followed the attacker out of the building when he tried to flee, and some followed him into a nearby Froedtert urgent care clinic but lost sight of him inside.

Scanner traffic indicated some employees immediately suspected one of their colleagues was behind the attack. The workers told investigators 33-year-old Tyana Stanton had been demoted one day earlier, and she believed the victim was responsible for the demotion.

Other officers went to the Froedtert clinic and spotted a man who matched the attacker's description. He didn't have the jacket, backpack or mask, and he told police his name was "Christopher Ford."

The man told police he had a ride waiting in the circle drive, and officers let him go while still keeping an eye on him. Another officer found the backpack and mask in an elevator the man had exited, and police also noticed the man walked past the circle drive and toward a car out on the street.

Officers then rushed out and stopped the man, who they identified as 32-year-old Jermaine McLemore. The vehicle he was trying to enter was registered to Stanton.

During an interview with police, a detective showed Stanton phone records showing her phone and McLemore's had made several calls to each other the morning of the attack. According to court records, Stanton denied being on the phone with McLemore before later telling the detective he is her cousin. She denied setting up the attack.

Court records show Stanton posted a $25,000 signature bond. Nobody answered the door at her listed address in Jackson Monday evening.

Stanton was previously interviewed by CBS 58 in 2021 when she lost her SUV in a fire. A Milwaukee grocery store, Stark Foods, gifted her $5,000.

Stanton is now charged with conspiracy to commit bodily harm to a worker in health care, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of six years in prison. 

McLemore is charged with committing bodily harm to a worker in health care, as well as obstructing an officer. Those charges carry a maximum sentence of six years and nine months. 

McLemore is in the Waukesha County Jail, and court records show there is also a warrant for his arrest in Milwaukee County in connection to a domestic battery in January.

Both defendants are due back in court for their preliminary hearings later this month.