Sara Birtch, a certified nursing assistant at Crown Park Nursing Home in Cortland, had to return to her place of work to fill out an accident report, the day after a man allegedly shot her in the mouth with a pellet gun. Shawn Fagan, 52, was charged with assault in the second degree Friday.

As of January 1, New York ended cash bail for anyone facing non-violent crime charges. The goal is to make sure wealth isn't a determining factor for bail.

Under the new reforms, Fagan was released and allowed to return to his home.

"I felt like I was going to pass out," said Birtch. "I definitely did not feel safe or comfortable knowing he was there."

Cortland Police changed Fagan's charge Monday to first degree assault. Detective Lieutenant Michael Strangeway says he had to arrest Fagan after really looking at what happened to Birtch.

"She's an adult woman," said Strangeway. "Those teeth can't simply be put back in. She will be missing real teeth for the rest of her life."

Strangeway says Fagan insisted the nursing home is a “front” for criminal activity.

"We're not the criminals," said Birtch. "We take good care of our residents."

One woman says she is scared to go visit her mom in Crown Park. She asked to remain anonymous as she talked about how upsetting the whole situation was.

"That's where we live now," she said, "where mental health issues are brushed under the rug."

She says she called state senators and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office to voice her concerns about the bail reform.

"Nobody at any job place, no matter what you do, deserves to be in a situation where they're afraid to go outside, afraid to come inside, afraid that somebody could come inside. It's ridiculous," the woman said.

At an event in Manhattan on Monday, Cuomo said the bail reform is a work in progress, and he is open to changes.