Melbourne, FL — In just three weeks, four (that we know of) separate violent and criminal incidents have occurred at or in connection with Circles of Care, a taxpayer-funded non-profit mental health facility in Brevard County. The cases include the felony battery of a 70-year-old woman, the strangulation of a senior citizen during transport, an unprovoked assault in a patient common area, and the rape of a cognitively disabled woman who functions at the mental level of a child.
- Advertisement -
All four incidents resulted in arrests and criminal charges. Most occurred at the facility’s Sheridan Road campus or shortly after patient discharge. The victims were either elderly, physically vulnerable, or severely developmentally impaired.
The Space Coast Rocket has reviewed the official arrest affidavits for each incident. These cases are not isolated outliers — they are indicators of a systemic breakdown in safety, supervision, and leadership at Circles of Care.
CASE 1: 70-Year-Old Woman Assaulted at Lunch
- Advertisement -
Date: April 16, 2025 Suspect: Steven Miller Charges: Felony Battery, Battery on Person Over 65
During lunchtime at the Circles of Care inpatient crisis unit, Steven Miller attacked multiple patients. He threw a full tray of food into the face of a 70-year-old woman using a walker. When two other patients tried to protect her, Miller punched one in the back of the head and the other in the face. One man was knocked to the ground and suffered swelling and abrasions.
- Advertisement -
Miller had a previous battery conviction, which elevated his charges to felonies. He was arrested on site and transported to the Brevard County Jail.
CASE 2: Recently Released Patient Chokes 65-Year-Old Taxi Driver
Date: May 2, 2025 Suspect: Laway Meharie Charges: Battery by Strangulation on Person Over 65
Laway Meharie had just been discharged from Circles of Care when she began choking her contracted transport driver mid-ride. The 65-year-old driver refused to make an unscheduled stop, prompting Meharie to reach around from the back seat and place both hands around the woman’s neck, choking her as the vehicle was in motion.
The driver was only able to escape the attack by honking her horn and drawing the attention of a passerby. Police observed visible marks on the victim’s neck. Meharie was arrested at the scene.
CASE 3: Woman Strangled in Common Room Without Warning
Date: May 11, 2025 Suspect: Edwin Frapart II Charges: Aggravated Battery by Strangulation
A female patient watching television in a shared room was suddenly attacked by Edwin Frapart II. He approached from behind, wrapped his arm around her neck, and began choking her. She shouted to alert others and reported she was unable to breathe during the incident.
Surveillance video confirmed the assault, and police filed charges for felony aggravated battery by strangulation.
CASE 4: Rape of Developmentally Disabled Woman by Male Patient
Date: May 15, 2025 Suspect: Bladimir Barreto Mendez Charges: Sexual Battery on a Mentally Defective Person (First-Degree Felony)
The most horrifying case occurred on May 15, 2025, when Circles of Care Harbor Pines staff performing a routine nighttime bed check found 30-year-old male patient Bladimir Mendez completely naked in the bed of a female patient in the women’s wing.
The woman, who is severely developmentally disabled and functions at the mental level of a young child, had her adult diaper removed. Staff found Mendez lying behind her, pressing his exposed genitals between her legs. When confronted, Mendez smirked and made a vulgar comment about being “interrupted.”
In a recorded interview, the victim told police that Mendez had convinced her to return to her room, undressed her, and penetrated her. She described the sex as painful and frightening but said she complied because she was afraid to upset him. She cried during her statement and repeatedly asked if she was in trouble.
Medical staff confirmed that the victim had never previously engaged in sexual activity and did not have the ability to consent. Mendez admitted to having sex with her, said he knew she was a virgin, and expressed no remorse. He stated he had been with over 400 women and complained that staff had interrupted him.
He was arrested and charged with Sexual Battery on a Mentally Defective Person, a first-degree felony under Florida Statute 794.011(4)(e)5. The victim has since been moved to the Sheridan location and is now 1:1 female only with no roommate according to staff.
Whistleblower Speaks Out: “Every One of These Incidents Was Preventable”
Following a Facebook post by The Space Coast Rocket calling on current and former Circles of Care staff to come forward, over 100 individuals have contacted us, including nurses, techs, caseworkers, and even former patients. Their stories are consistent: systemic dysfunction, burnout, poor safety protocols, and administrative secrecy.
One of the most detailed accounts came from a current employee at the inpatient crisis unit, who wrote:
“Every one of the recent arrests — the victims would not have been on the same unit if Sheridan East were open. Every one of them would have been on the closed unit and safe… This is 100% preventable.”
They revealed that Sheridan East, a high-acuity unit meant for the most vulnerable patients (elderly, wheelchair-bound, severely disabled), has been closed for nearly two years — despite its renovations being completed over a year ago.
“Instead, they combine everyone on Sheridan West and Harbor Pines. We’re housing high-risk and low-functioning patients together. It’s chaos waiting to happen — and it already has.”
According to the staff, the real reason Sheridan East remains closed is due to chronic understaffing and a strategy to stretch resources across fewer units to maintain appearance, not safety. They said that the frontline staff — nurses, techs, and social workers — are doing their best, but turnover is high, morale is low, and leadership is completely detached.
“Steve Lord and the people upstairs have zero contact with patients. They are politicians. They don’t speak to the staff. They make decisions with no regard for our safety or our patients’ well-being.”
Additional Staff Whistleblower: “We were just waiting for someone to get murdered”
A former Circles of Care social worker who spent three years inside the facility contacted The Space Coast Rocket to share disturbing testimony. He described a work environment marked by administrative neglect, serious safety concerns, and outright abuse of staff. “We were constantly afraid of being attacked by patients,” he said. “We asked for armed security, but admin refused. They just put up cameras that don’t stop anyone.” He recalls being hired the same day a staff member was shot and killed by a recent patient in the parking lot at Harbor Pines.
He described multiple incidents of nurses and intake workers being brutally assaulted, hospitalized, or left alone with dangerous patients. “A girl on intake was once left alone with a man who had previously attempted to rape her. Admin did nothing,” he said. Another nurse, assigned to the children’s unit, was hospitalized after a violent attack by a juvenile patient. One night-shift nurse was assaulted with an industrial-sized hole punch. The staff’s complaints, he said, were met with HR responses like: “You know what you signed up for.”
Mismanagement and Mold: Money for Offices, Not for Patients
According to multiple staff members, patient units suffer from black mold in ceiling tiles and malfunctioning doors that often don’t lock securely. One child reportedly suffered an allergic reaction due to mold exposure. Despite these conditions, staff said administrators spared no expense renovating their own office suites and installing luxury fixtures in administrative areas. “They put in expensive rugs and stair runners,” he wrote, “while patients sat in rooms with leaking ceilings.”
According to Circles of Care’s latest IRS Form 990, the nonprofit brought in over 55 million dollars in revenue in 2023 and paid its top executives hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation. President and CEO Stephen Lord earned over 400,000 dollars in total pay, while one psychiatrist — David Feldman, listed as President Emeritus — took in nearly 650,000 dollars. Multiple senior doctors, who reportedly operate private practices on the side, earned salaries between 200,000 and 300,000 dollars. Meanwhile, front-line staff described being denied full-time status despite working 40-hour weeks, with no paid time off or health benefits. “The admin team is paid like executives in a for-profit hospital,” one employee said, “but the people doing the work are burned out, underpaid, and afraid for their safety every shift.”
Circles of Care Responds — But Not to the Rape
Following our request for comment, Circles of Care issued a statement through media consultant Jim McClellan, addressing a former employee’s arrest from a 2018 case and vaguely referencing “recent, unrelated incidents.” The facility acknowledged “patient-to-patient behavior” and a staff member being injured — but failed to mention the May 15 rape of a cognitively impaired woman by a male patient in their own women’s wing, despite the case being fully documented by the Melbourne Police Department and resulting in a felony sexual battery charge.
Circles of Care claimed it is conducting internal reviews and cooperating with authorities, but provided no indication that victims’ families have been contacted, that patient safety procedures have been changed, or that any form of accountability is being exercised by leadership.
“Circles of Care is reviewing recent, unrelated incidents… We are conducting thorough internal reviews to ensure our precautions, policies, and protocols are followed and strengthened wherever needed,” the statement reads.
For the mother of the 2025 sexual battery victim, that response is too little, too late. In a heartbreaking message to The Space Coast Rocket, she wrote:
“My disabled daughter, who has the IQ of a child, was raped by another patient… after the rape exam at Holmes Regional, they sent her back there!”
How Many More?
The whistleblower who first tipped us off has made one thing clear: these four cases are not the exception — they are the ones that slipped through the cracks into public view because they involved criminal charges. Due to HIPAA and internal handling, the public may never know how many similar incidents have occurred with or without law enforcement involvement.
A records request has been submitted to the Melbourne Police Department seeking all reports tied to Circles of Care from 2023 to present.
Patient advocates say this appears to be more than a string of bad luck — it’s a systemic failure to protect the most vulnerable, and it’s unfolding within a facility that receives public funds and contracts to provide care.
The mother of the sexual assault victim is calling for justice, support, and transparency.Our investigation is ongoing. We are currently vetting dozens of additional stories, including reports of patient-on-patient assaults, overdoses, staff retaliation, and threats of violence.
Have You Seen Something? Say Something.
If you are a former or current employee, patient, or family member and have witnessed abuse, dangerous conditions, or coverups at Circles of Care, contact us confidentially.
