WOODHAVEN: Resident says police raided wrong apartmentTuesday, November 11, 2008 5:23 PM EST
By Jackie Harrison Martin
WOODHAVEN — A woman said she was traumatized when masked police officers with guns drawn broke down her door looking for a man who actually lives next door to her.
Kristy Cohn, 25, lives in the 23000 block of Williamsburg Circle, and so does a person the Down River Area Narcotics Organization is looking for. There is a one number difference in the five-digit address between the two apartments.
Police confirmed that they came to the apartment at about 7 p.m. Thursday looking for drugs.
According to Cohn, she had just gotten out of the shower and had a towel around her head and body when she heard the team identify itself and demand that someone open the door. She said that before she could get to the door, they had kicked it in.
“There were about five of them, and their faces were covered except their eyes,” Cohn said. “One guy did not have a mask on. They had guns and they told me to put my hands up. I had a towel around my head and one wrapped around my body. I had to drop the towel, and they told me to sit on the couch.
“I sat there nude for about three to five minutes before one of the officers asked if there was a robe they could get me. He went and got it off my bedroom door.”
Detective 1st Lt. Darwin Scott was not there that day, and Monday morning he said he was not aware of the situation. He later met with his team leaders and asked them what had occurred.
Scott talked about the incident Monday afternoon based on information from team leaders.
“I spoke to the lieutenant and a couple of the officers, and they said the woman had a towel wrapped around her head and her top and she had on blue jeans,” Scott said. “One of the lieutenants even got her a robe and she remained sitting on the couch. At no time was she bare.”
Cohn said, “That is not remotely true.”
She said she was being asked numerous personal questions while on the couch, but the one thing that struck her as odd was the interest the officers took in her engagement photos. She believes that is when they started figuring out something was wrong.
“I told them my boyfriend just left and I could call him,” Cohn said. “I called him and they took the phone to talk to him. They kept calling him (name withheld). He kept telling them his name is Greg.”
Cohn said the officers also took interest in the lease agreement, which had her boyfriend’s name, Greg Shenton, on it.
Shenton said officers spoke aggressively to him, continuously calling him by the suspect’s name.
“I’m sure they did some homework and at least knew what the guy looked like,” Shenton said. “I think they made a mistake and started realizing it.”
Scott said that although officers were not at the suspect’s address, they still had probable cause to search Cohn and Shenton’s residence. Scott said a police dog indicated there were drugs in their apartment on two occasions, and the suspect’s vehicle was parked in front of Cohn and Shenton’s apartment.
He said the information they had before executing the search warrant came from a credible source.
The couple believes the dog actually correctly detected drugs at the suspect’s address, but the team of officers went to the wrong address.
Cohn said a police dog was brought in when the officers did not find any drugs. The dog didn’t find any, either.
She was given a copy of the search warrant, which she said she immediately noticed had a different address on the paperwork.
The address actually is of the apartment next to hers.
The license plate number on the suspect’s vehicle also indicates he lives in the apartment next to hers, Scott said.
“They told me it was a typo, that they were at the right house,” Cohn said.
The News-Herald Newspapers obtained a copy of the search warrant, which lists the suspect’s name and his address four times.
As of yesterday afternoon, he still had not been apprehended.
Scott said team members told him they cleaned up the couple’s apartment before leaving.
“The manager’s office fixed their door and the officers put things back,” Scott said. “We don’t fold clothes, but they did put things back where they were. They have been made whole.”
Shenton said he took pictures of the apartment, which show it ransacked after police left.
Scott said that anytime the team enters a residence, safety comes first and the place has to be secured. He said police try to confirm the information they have before proceeding on any bust.
“There have been incidents in my (more than) 20 years where folks had the wrong information or made a mistake,” Scott said. “If that is the case, we obviously are at fault if there is damage.”
The couple said they intend to seek legal action.
