According to reports, police found Harrison's mother unable to care for herself in an apartment "not fit for habitation."
PITTSFIELD - A 44-year-old Pittsfield man was sentenced to serve 1 1/2 years in the Berkshire County House of Correction after he pleaded guilty to a charge of caretaker abuse by neglecting an elderly woman under his care.
Christopher A. Harrison also pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening to commit a crime: murder.
Judge John Agostini ordered him to serve a minimum of 18 months and that he serve two years probation following his release. While on probation he is to avoid drugs and alcohol, to be tested regularly for drug and alcohol use, and to receive counseling.
According to the office of Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless, Harrison was responsible for caring for a 67-year-old woman who lived in his house but between Jan. 1, 2012 and Feb. 13, 2013, he failed to do so. During the same period, he made threats against a 41-year-woman.
Capeless' office did not disclose the relationship between Harrison and the woman. However, according to the Berkshire Eagle, the woman was his mother, and she suffers from dementia-like symptoms and has difficulty walking.
The newspaper attributes police reports that say their apartment was "not fit for habitation," and there was trash and hypodermic needles all over the floor and no little food in apartment.
According to the Eagle, Harrison threatened to kill a family member if she ever tried to take his mother away.