AUGUSTA, Ga. () – An arrest has been made after the death of a resident at a local senior living facility.

82-year-old Harry Millard was a resident at Barclay House Senior Living on the 200 Frazier Court where he sustained injuries in early January, causing him to be transported by EMS to Piedmont Augusta ER.  Millard was admitted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead January 17, 2025.

28-year-old Curtis Nekia Hightower III was arrested Sunday, February 2, and charged with Aggravated Battery and Exploitation of Elderly or Disabled Person.

The Executive Director of Barclay House Senior Living located at 204 Frazier Court in Augusta contacted Richmond County Sheriff’s Office on January 29.

According to the incident report filed in the case, the Barclay House Executive Director stated that the incident was originally reported internally as a fall and that the 82-year-old resident/patient, Harry Millard was transported to Piedmont Hospital via ambulance for treatment after the incident on January 5, 2025.

The Executive Director told law enforcement that, while reviewing video footage of the incident, she and management staff observed that an assault occurred in which the nursing assistant, Curtis Hightower III, struck Millard with a hand or fist, apparently causing Millard to fall just outside of a room at Barclay House.

According to the incident report, the Executive Director explained that Hightower was no longer working at this facility on January 29, 2025, and that he was a temp who was placed through Consolidated Medical Staffing, a contracted staffing agency.

Hightower was booked at Charles B. Webster Detention Center, but current inmate records do not list him as a current detainee.