Family wants answers after disabled man dies following days without AC in group home amid state investigation

PHOENIX - New details have been uncovered on a group home operator entrusted to care for vulnerable Arizonans. FOX 10's previous reporting highlighted Legend DDD Services when several nurses said they were not being paid amid an ongoing state investigation. Now, it is clear what the state has been looking into for months.

The Department of Economic Security’s Division of Developmental Disabilities has been aware of quality-of-care concerns at Legend DDD since November 2025.

A 65-year-old man, Mark Johnson, was the eldest to his sisters Kimberly Harland and Allison Hoffman, and they will tell you how protective they were of their big brother. Mark lived with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s, but loved ones say he was full of life.

"Mark was not just because he was disabled put on a shelf. Mark is the center of our family. He is what our family revolved around, and he will be forever missed," Harland said.

Mark lived at a south Phoenix group home near Dobbins Road and 19th Street since 2020. The facility is one of 10 state-licensed nursing supported group homes operated by Legend DDD Services. Back on Aug. 2, Hoffman visited Mark but says she quickly realized how hot it was.

"He was in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and I found very distressed to me, especially compared to our previous visit. He looked very lethargic. His head was hanging. I tried to feed him a little bit of lunch. He could not hold his head up. It was so awfully hot in there," Hoffman said.

Hoffman took a photo of the thermostat.

"When I approached the thermostat in their home, it was 88 degrees and fluctuated from 88 to 90 in the hours that I spent there with Mark that day," Hoffman said.

Dig deeper:

Multiple former employees of Legend DDD confirmed to FOX 10 that the group home was without air conditioning in early August. Mark’s family says they learned that on the day of the visit, the air conditioning had been out for five days. They reached out to Adult Protective Services, learning officials were aware the day before.

"My question is, if an APS investigator was there on Saturday, already knew that they'd been without AC since Wednesday. Why didn't he call me? Why didn't somebody from the State call me to alert me that my brother was in severe distress? Because I will tell you this, from the time he was in that home without AC to the time that he passed, it was 25 days. Mark was not at the end of his life. He was dying. But we had 60 to 90 days left with him. He didn't have to suffer in that kind of heat, stress, the way he did," Harland said.

Loved ones say Mark was also put on an oxygen tank which was new, and the family removed him from the group home. Mark’s health deteriorated, and he passed away at the end of the month.

"There's more to the story than the fact that that home didn't have AC for five days. And there's more of the story about my brother losing his life. There is a bigger story before he even became a part of it," Harland said.

When reporters first visited Legend DDD’s office in September, it was closed after several nurses reported they had not been paid. There was no response from the owners, Kerri Masengale and Dr. Feras Aldaoud. But through a source, the first page of a letter issued from the state to Legend DDD Services dated Aug. 31 was obtained, terminating the provider participation agreement for the group home that Mark lived at. The termination came via AHCCCS, the state’s Medicaid agency, and the letter reveals a months-long investigation.

What they're saying:

When Harland was asked about her reaction knowing that the Department of Economic Security had been investigating Legend since November 2025, she was not aware.

"Well, that was news to me. I had no idea that they had been under investigation," Harland said.

The notice of termination says the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities started monitoring all Legend DDD facilities last November due to "ongoing concerns with the quality of care being provided in Legend DDD group homes." It was revealed there was a sustained pattern of deficiencies that included "insufficient training of nursing staff on caring for members with complex medical issues" and failing to "maintain minimum staffing ratios." Legend DDD was put on a corrective action plan back in March 2026 but was ultimately terminated by the end of August.

To find out what else Legend DDD was being accused of, it was uncovered that AHCCCS sent termination notices to nine of their group homes. FOX 10 filed a public records request, and after weeks of waiting to obtain all nine letters, most of the pages were redacted. What the documents do reveal is that upon termination, Legend DDD must provide a "smooth" transition of care for members in their care.

"If it's broader than just one individual, and we're noticing these systemic patterns, that's when we potentially could issue a stop work order which would ensure that that all of the services that the vendor is providing are not occurring anymore and that we're working to transition the members being served by that vendor to an alternate vendor," said Zane Garcia Ramadan.

Zane Garcia Ramadan is the assistant director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities under the Department of Economic Security. He cannot speak to FOX 10 about specific cases but says a termination indicates a serious situation for health officials.

"If it is something that has a significant impact to the member, we would try to notify their family members and responsible persons as quickly as possible," Garcia Ramadan said.

In the case of Legend DDD, the decision came weeks after the reported lack of air conditioning. Mark Johnson’s sisters are adamant that the state never notified them about the air conditioning. Legend DDD’s owner has still not responded to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Harland and Hoffman feel ignored by state officials and the group home operator, months after saying goodbye to Mark.

"We miss him dearly. We all agree that Mark was our angel on earth. He had eight nieces and nephews who adored him, and they all expressed that Mark taught them love, kindness, and most of all compassion," Hoffman said.

What's next:

Mark's family plans to represent him and raise awareness for his story by joining the 2026 Down Syndrome Walk Arizona on November 21: https://dsnetworkaz.org/event/2026-down-syndrome-walk-arizona/

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