Cops Raid Wrong Home: Drug Bust Wasn't Intended For Fred Skinner, 76-Year-Old New York Man

Fred Skinner says he was eating a piece of toast when police broke into his home, only to learn that they were in the wrong place.

Drug enforcement officers in upstate New York bashed through an elderly man's front door only to discover that they had the wrong address.

Auburn resident Fred Skinner, 76, says he was eating toast at the breakfast table earlier this month when authorities raided his home in the Finger Lakes region.

"They just broke in," Skinner told The Huffington Post as a handyman fixed his front door today. "They told me not to move so I didn't move."

After turning the residence upside down for approximately five minutes and attempting to handcuff Skinner with guns drawn, authorities realized they busted down the wrong door.

"They looked at my table where I had the mail piled up," Skinner explained. "They said 'whose mail is this?' I said 'it's mine.' They said 'We've got the wrong house.'"

When the misguided authorities realized the error, one officer attempted to calm Skinner and gave him the police department's phone number so they could smooth things over later.

Auburn Police Chief Gary Gionnotta said that he spoke with Skinner's son and offered multiple apologies for the intrusion. He added that the incident is one of only a few he has witnessed in 16 years on the job.

"We're just like everyone else, we're human, we make mistakes too," Giannotta told Huff Post. "When we make a mistake, we try to make it right as best we can."

Authorities reimbursed Skinner with $1,250 to pay for the broken door.

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Comments

[CMB1969]

05:21 PM on 04/05/2012

oh great--I guessing all the hubbub gave the real drug suspects next door advance warning to flush their stash down the toilet...

[madfam004]

10:59 AM on 04/02/2012

If there were to pass a law where, whenever a wrong house was raided, the owner will recieve from the state a one million dollar settlement, mistakes will not happen then.

[madfam004]

10:56 AM on 04/02/2012

It just seems in that human error will always be there. Hey stupid, that is the wrong house. And that's what happens when no one asks any questions. Are we sure this is the right house?

[Megamel99]

09:16 AM on 04/02/2012

How many times will they make this mistake? At least no one was killed this time. I know humans make mistakes, but c'mon. How long have they been investigating the actual target??

[elgeezr]

11:08 PM on 04/01/2012

He was lucky. Here in CA the DEA busted into an old man's home & shot & killed him when he made the mistake of trying to protect his wife against what he thought were criminals.

[cobraxus]

12:24 PM on 03/31/2012

I hear they let him off with a warning and he promised never to be the wrong house again.

[Ossit]

12:00 PM on 03/31/2012

But Police never apologized. Pathetic!

[acarioti]

03:56 PM on 03/30/2012

Oops! Never mind!

[fumes]

11:10 PM on 03/29/2012

good thing he wasn't enjoying a smoke..

they would have shot him first..

asked questions later!

pot is GOOD for old folks:

In a recent news story "Expert Testifies Cannabis Helps Slow Aging", Dr. Robert Melamede, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs biology professor, and former head of the UCCS biology department stated that:

You can look at the harm caused by free radicals as biological friction or biological rust and the endocannabinoid1 system minimizes the impact of that and directly acts as an antioxidant as well as modifying the biochemistry in a way that minimizes the impacts," said Melamede outside court Thursday, likening endocannabinoids to humans like oil is to cars. He said if you don't have lubrication in your car, your car breaks. In the human body, the damage comes in the form of age-related diseases.

"I'm saying what science has now shown is that marijuana and cannabinoids are effective anti-aging agents which means that they are effective in minimizing the onset and the severity of age-related illnesses which include cognitive dysfunction things like Alzheimers, cardiovascular disease, be it heart attacks, strokes, or clogged arteries," he said. (Newham, 2008)

In reference to this, it is worth noting that the world's oldest woman was a copious cannabis smoker, and attributed her great age to her use of the herb.
http://endingcannabisprohibition.yuku.com/sreply/241/t/Cannabis-and-Longevity.html

[pucpaul]

10:33 PM on 03/29/2012

Thank God he didn't have a heart attack, or make any sudden moves!

[sport coat willy]

10:14 PM on 03/29/2012

remember that mayors house ? they shot his dogs in some small town, some stranger was having a few pounds of pot delievered to the mayors house

[sport coat willy]

10:03 PM on 03/29/2012

well they did make restitution. how about you Spike Lee are you going to make good with your dumb decision to tweet the wrong address of George Zimmerman instead it was the address of those innocent elderly people? "white mean cant jump "? Black men cant think ! thay's fair right ?

[dogtac69]

02:40 AM on 03/30/2012

sport coat willy

We all think it. Only you had the guts to say it.
F&F

[IfIonlyknew]

04:49 PM on 04/01/2012

Let me guess.....You are a gang member,But you are still too new and not allowed to speak for the other boys yet.

[amluvinit2]

08:08 PM on 03/29/2012

I can recall 3 incidents off the top of my head right now, that involved police raiding the wrong house, and killing people. Including that Marine that the police tried to say shot first, but recanted once they found the safety was on his firearm. Come home from WAR,and get shot by Police.

[Michel t]

08:32 PM on 03/29/2012

Whatever happened to just nabbing the bad guy when he walked out?

-

Ho, wait, just remembered... SWAT teams, you use them or you lose them...

[Wyldstaar]

07:20 PM on 03/29/2012

This is why it's so important to have your address clearly marked at the curb and on your mailbox. When I was a kid, I tried doing pizza delivery. It was a nightmare, because hardly anyone has their address clearly marked. I often found entire streets that had no address numbers at the residences. Along my entire street today, no more than one house in twenty has a curb address that is readable.

[sport coat willy]

10:05 PM on 03/29/2012

while what you say is all true, dontyou think they should know better?

[Wyldstaar]

10:44 PM on 03/29/2012

How precisely are the police to know better than the average person what the address of any particular unmarked house is? You can go to google maps and look up a specific address, sure. The house shown in the image and the one that actually exists at that address are not always the same, though. It's often the house next door that's being imaged. Then there's the ever confusing 2908 E Benson Ave vs 2908 W Benson Ave, which is extra fun when the search warrant just says 2908 Benson Ave.

[CMB1969]

05:20 PM on 04/05/2012

If you are going to the trouble to get a search warrant from a magistrate (a document which is supposed to enumerate the property being serached right down to a tee) and to go kick down someone's door, the expectation of due care is considerably higher than for a pizza deliverer. If they have to examine deeds & surveyor records at the court house, than they should do so.

[cpminline]

07:04 PM on 03/29/2012

What happened to banging on the door and givingthe guy a chance to give up, before tearing the old dudes house up. Don't cry about the hard jobs cops have, I've never had a dealing with a cop when he wasn't an arrogant due8hbag. Cop school teaches them to be that way, had a friend in high school--nicest guy you would want to meet, came back to work on our hometown force and was eventually driven out for being on the power trip.

[sport coat willy]

10:09 PM on 03/29/2012

actually I had some plain clothes vistiors here at my house in Baltimore county they confronted me as I was getting i my car in the drive way , and I invited them in , and they "interviewed me" in the ktichen,,,,,,,,,,,,, they had a search warrant but did feel the need to kick in my door. so I have to be honest they treated me with respect.......no problems

[elgeezr]

11:14 PM on 04/01/2012

You were lucky. These guys are working an adrenaline rush when they do these raids.