Viriginia Beach Home Closed After Owner Fails to Report Drug Charge

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- State officials decided Friday to shutter a care home for people with intellectual disabilities after they discovered that the owner -- facing a recent neglect charge and scrutiny over earlier complaints about the home -- failed to report that he'd recently pleaded guilty to a cocaine charge.
The decision by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services came after The Virginian-Pilot inquired whether Lawrence Batiste's Dec. 5 guilty plea for felony cocaine possession would affect his license to operate Pleasante Vue Residential Care Home, a Baker Road facility serving about four people. Les Saltzberg, the department's licensing director, investigated and found that Batiste had not reported the charge as required