Filed under: News
A woman reportedly awoke to the wailing of a chainsaw as it ripped through her front door in Fitchburg, Mass., on Thursday.
But, contrary to how the event might have appeared to some horror flick buffs, the culprit was not a villainous intruder set on wreaking unspeakable havoc. It was the FBI.
"It was so crazy," Judy Sanchez told the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper in Fitchburg. "I was terrified."
Attempting to carry out a drug raid, about 10 agents burst through Judy Sanchez's door wielding the saw. They intended on arresting a suspected cocaine dealer, the newspaper said.
But they failed miserably: The apartment unit they should have entered was 2F. Sanchez and her daughter live in 2R.
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After breaking in, the agents reportedly aimed their weapons and yelled for Sanchez to get on the floor, then ordered her to get a hold of her startled 3-month-old pit bull, which had just urinated.
When the agents discovered that they were in the wrong apartment, they seemed embarrassed, Sanchez said. They then moved on to arrest the actual suspect, who lives next door. The blunder came at the end of a two-year investigation into gang activity, gun sales and drug trafficking, the Sentinel & Enterprise said.
The FBI has since apologized and is paying for the damage to Sanchez's home, The Associated Press reported.
Some may find it hard to fathom how such a carefully planned operation could go so awry. But in the world of law enforcement screw-ups, stranger things have happened.
Assisting Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who calls himself "America's toughest sheriff," in a real-life raid, action hero Steven Seagal once rode a tank into the house of an Arizona man suspected of cockfighting. As far as pets go, they weren't as lucky in this case as Sanchez's pit bull: In this crackdown on animal cruelty, a puppy was killed along with several roosters.
Also see:
Family Faces Eviction Over Toddler's Noise
HUD Renegs on Letting Evicted 101-Year-Old Return Home
Messy Yard Brings Jail Time for SC Woman, Then Help
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