Centerstone of Florida has replaced its top administrators in the aftermath of a Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigation that focused on the mishandling of two clients accused of killing three people.
Among the four executives no longer employed with the behavioral hospital and addiction center in Bradenton is Dr. Lisa Williams, who was the regional chief executive officer in charge of Florida operations. Williams served as CEO for only 14 months.
Also replaced was chief operating officer Roger Johnson, who had been employed by Centerstone for over 32 years. He had been COO since 2019. Charles Whitfield, vice president of community care, and Jane Roseboro, vice president of community alignment, are also no longer employed by Centerstone.
A spokesman for Centerstone of America – which is Centerstone of Florida’s parent company in Tennessee – confirmed the shakeup of the top executives.
Robert Lambert, vice president of corporate communications for Centerstone of America, did not indicate whether the four were fired or resigned. Employees were informed of the changes via email on March 11.
Centerstone has appointed Jeremy Watson as interim chief executive officer for the Florida market. Chris Hendricks and Lora Leslie DeMoss will serve as interim chief operating officers overseeing hospital and outpatient operations, respectively.
“Centerstone remains focused on providing high-quality behavioral health services to the individuals and communities we serve,” Lambert said in a statement. “All programs and services continue to operate as normal.”
Centerstone of Florida employs 450 people and serves 17,000 patients in Bradenton, Sarasota, Fort Myers, LaBelle and Arcadia. Centerstone receives tens of millions of dollars each year from state and county taxpayers, local nonprofit foundations and philanthropists such as Hugh Culverhouse Jr.
In the past, Centerstone has counted incoming Florida Senate President Jim Boyd as a strong funding advocate in Tallahassee. Boyd has not responded to inquiries seeking comment about Centerstone.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is a major financial source for Centerstone. In five years between 2020 and 2024, a contract shows, Centerstone received $91,672,021 in taxpayer money that came from DCF through a middle entity called Central Florida Behavioral Health Network. In the five years prior, Centerstone was allocated $49,429,907.
What did the Herald-Tribune investigation reveal about Centerstone of Florida?
According to the Herald-Tribune investigation, a Bradenton man named Thomas Matejcek was arrested and charged with killing his mother, Patricia Matejcek, and her boyfriend, Sean Harrison, Sr. in 2023.
Matejcek had a history of mental illness, substance abuse and violent crime. He had been in jail for assaulting his mother and her boyfriend but was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Matejcek was assigned by a judge to receive competency restoration treatment from Centerstone. The judge also agreed that Matejcek should reside at the Mary Jennings Group Home in Bradenton during his restoration process.
No one seemed aware, however, that 80-year-old Mary Jennings did not have a state license to operate the home, which is a third-degree felony in Florida, nor was Jennings’ criminal background checked and taken into consideration.
Jennings – who has no training in the mental health field – has been convicted of sale and possession of cocaine and welfare fraud in the past, according to Manatee County court records. She also has been in bankruptcy four times, faced foreclosure 10 times, had her driver’s license suspended for a decade, and settled a lawsuit in which she was accused of notarizing an unsigned corrective deed in a real estate transaction.
In addition, the Bradenton Police Department and EMS workers were called to Jennings’ home more than 100 times since 2021 for a variety of incidents, including suicide attempts and drug overdose deaths.
Jennings received help at the home from her son, Calvin Moore, who served roughly 20 years in federal prison during two different stints for sale and possession of cocaine.
On Oct. 25, 2023, Centerstone forensics manager Tabitha Hammersmith picked Matejcek up from jail and drove him to Jennings’ house.
After Jennings gave him $15 for cigarettes, he said he was going to walk to the store. After 15 minutes he was gone. He never came back, and Jennings never reported it.
It wasn’t until five days later – when Hammersmith called Jennings because Matejcek had missed a medication management appointment at Centerstone – that Hammersmith was told Matejcek was missing.
Again, nothing was done, and Matejcek was not found until Nov. 10, 2023, after his mother and her boyfriend had been killed.
Originally a death penalty case, Matejcek’s trial is set to begin on Monday, April 6. He has elected to bypass a jury trial in favor of a bench trial, which means 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Frederick Mercurio will weigh the evidence, declare a verdict and announce a sentence, if one is necessary.
It was not the first time Centerstone lost track of an alleged killer, according to the Herald-Tribune investigation.
In 2018, a schizophrenic gang member named Tyrone Burns was deemed incompetent to stand trial and was placed in the care of Centerstone by a judge in Manatee County.
Burns was allowed to live with his father in Lakeland while undergoing treatment. Burns left his father’s house, traveled to Vidalia, Ga., and killed the 31-year-old single mother of a 7-year-old boy in a men’s clothing store.
Centerstone was not aware Burns had left Florida until he had been in jail for the crime for a year.
Centerstone settled a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the decedent’s mother for $6 million.
What else did the Herald-Tribune investigation reveal about Centerstone of Florida?
The investigation also revealed that Mary Jennings hosted Centerstone clients at her unlicensed home for years and made substantial money while doing so. All at taxpayer expense.
Tax records show that Centerstone paid Jennings nearly $300,000 in 2023 and 2024 to house clients. Those were the only two years that Jennings was listed on Centerstone’s tax records. Hammersmith said in a deposition that money from a federal grant was used to pay her. The grant was worth $2 million over five years, and Centerstone received $400,000 a year. The grant expired in 2025.
During the same years, Centerstone also paid a Miami Beach real estate agency nearly $400,000 for “property management,” which is the same term used to describe Jennings’ bed rental service.
On March 2, 2026, the Herald-Tribune reported that Centerstone may have violated Florida statute 429.08, which states that “it is unlawful to knowingly refer a person for residency to an unlicensed assisted living facility,” such as the one Jennings was operating.
In a deposition obtained by the Herald-Tribune, Centerstone therapist Melinda Bissell stated:
“We knew it was unlicensed.”
What has been the fallout from the Herald-Tribune investigation?
Jennings recently told the Herald-Tribune that she is no longer operating, though she did not say who shut her down. She blamed the newspaper’s reporting.
According to court records, it appears a settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Centerstone by the estates of Patricia Matejcek and Sean Harrison, Sr. The settlement has not been officially announced.
Also, Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard is attempting to form a task force to get a handle on the number of group homes in the area — unlicensed and legitimate — in addition to implementing some type of local guidelines. She has spoken to the public defender’s office, the state attorney’s office and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, among others.
Chris Anderson can be reached at chris.anderson@heraldtribune.com. Please support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida nonprofit leaders replaced after alarming investigation
Reporting by Chris Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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