HarryB
Member
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=81031
December 22, 2006
Family seeks justice for botched police raid
By Nick Martin
Tribune
Sonia Celaya stared at the ground, her hands smudged with black, her face hard. The Phoenix house her parents lived in for 35 years stood behind her, gutted and charred. It smelled of water and burned wood. She had been living there, too, and everything she and her parents owned was destroyed.
For this, she blamed Gilbert and Scottsdale police.
"One of my neighbors (called and) said they were throwing bombs at my dad," the 43-yearold woman said Thursday.
The night before, Gilbert SWAT team members, with Scottsdale police's help, broke through the windows and front door of the house using flashbang grenades to distract anyone inside. They came with a warrant in hand to search for items stolen by a 23-year-old suspect they consider dangerous.
Instead, they found Celaya's 73-year-old father, Salvador, a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. He shot at the officers thinking they were robbers invading the house, she said.
Also inside were Celaya's 69-year-old mother, Carlota, who suffers from cancer, and 26-year-old nephew Ronnie Vance. As the commotion erupted, the pair took cover.
Before breaking in, officers knocked and used a loud speaker to announce they were serving a warrant, said Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Duncan.
Celaya said if that's true, her parents and nephew have told her they didn't hear it.
Within a couple minutes of the announcement, flames appeared in a bedroom of the house at 6802 S. Eighth St. The flash-bang grenades, which are nonlethal explosives often used in SWAT situations, likely set the house ablaze, Celaya said.
Phoenix Fire Department investigators have yet to determine the cause.
Duncan said neither the SWAT team nor firefighters could get near the house while Celaya's father was still carrying the gun.
Officers used a beanbag gun and tear gas to try to drive Salvador Celaya out of the house while it burned. Eventually, he ran out to the backyard, where police tackled him and took the gun.
And then, the house was fully engulfed. No one was hurt, but the house was destroyed. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
"It is very unfortunate that the house burned," Duncan said. "Our officers used extreme restraint in dealing with a man that was firing at officers."
"This is wrong," Sonia Celaya said. "They threw my parents on the street as if they were criminals."
Police briefly detained everyone after the incident. Salvador Celaya was taken to a police station for questioning. He was released soon after, but Phoenix police are investigating the shooting.
So what led Gilbert and Scottsdale police to the Phoenix house in the first place? Police have not said if either the Celayas or Vance, the nephew, are suspected of crimes and none have been arrested.
But both police departments have been investigating several crimes they believe are connected to one man: Erasmo Ruiz Villarreal, 23.
Earlier this week near the house, police found a Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle they believe Villarreal had stolen Sunday during a home invasion in Scottsdale, according to Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark. And a truck used in the crime was registered to the Phoenix house, Clark said.
Moreover, "other investigative sources" pointed to the house as a place where police could find stolen goods from a Gilbert burglary Villarreal is suspected of, Clark said.
Sonia Celaya said the truck that was registered to the house is hers, but it was in the repair shop Sunday and it had not been stolen or missing.
Villarreal is a suspect in a carjacking, kidnapping, aggravated assault and home invasion. Police believe he was helped by one or two people in each crime. They consider him dangerous. Gilbert police ask anyone with information on him or the case to call (480) 503-6500.
The Celayas are staying with Sonia's brother, a lawyer, in Tempe. They are considering legal recourse against the police departments, she said.
As is standard with any police shooting, the Gilbert Police Department's Office of Professional Standards will conduct an inquiry to determine if proper procedures were followed, Duncan said.
Thursday afternoon, Gilbert police revisited the site, raking through the house's remains for signs of the stolen goods. Duncan didn't know whether anything was found.
Sonia Celaya was not home when the incident took place, but she said she wished she had been there to try to prevent what happened.
"Thirty-five years they've been here," she lamented. "Thirty-five years."
Before the fire, the family was getting ready for Christmas - and Celaya's 44th birthday on Dec. 27. "Happy birthday," she said bitterly.
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December 22, 2006
Family seeks justice for botched police raid
By Nick Martin
Tribune
Sonia Celaya stared at the ground, her hands smudged with black, her face hard. The Phoenix house her parents lived in for 35 years stood behind her, gutted and charred. It smelled of water and burned wood. She had been living there, too, and everything she and her parents owned was destroyed.
For this, she blamed Gilbert and Scottsdale police.
"One of my neighbors (called and) said they were throwing bombs at my dad," the 43-yearold woman said Thursday.
The night before, Gilbert SWAT team members, with Scottsdale police's help, broke through the windows and front door of the house using flashbang grenades to distract anyone inside. They came with a warrant in hand to search for items stolen by a 23-year-old suspect they consider dangerous.
Instead, they found Celaya's 73-year-old father, Salvador, a man suffering from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. He shot at the officers thinking they were robbers invading the house, she said.
Also inside were Celaya's 69-year-old mother, Carlota, who suffers from cancer, and 26-year-old nephew Ronnie Vance. As the commotion erupted, the pair took cover.
Before breaking in, officers knocked and used a loud speaker to announce they were serving a warrant, said Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Duncan.
Celaya said if that's true, her parents and nephew have told her they didn't hear it.
Within a couple minutes of the announcement, flames appeared in a bedroom of the house at 6802 S. Eighth St. The flash-bang grenades, which are nonlethal explosives often used in SWAT situations, likely set the house ablaze, Celaya said.
Phoenix Fire Department investigators have yet to determine the cause.
Duncan said neither the SWAT team nor firefighters could get near the house while Celaya's father was still carrying the gun.
Officers used a beanbag gun and tear gas to try to drive Salvador Celaya out of the house while it burned. Eventually, he ran out to the backyard, where police tackled him and took the gun.
And then, the house was fully engulfed. No one was hurt, but the house was destroyed. Damage was estimated at $150,000.
"It is very unfortunate that the house burned," Duncan said. "Our officers used extreme restraint in dealing with a man that was firing at officers."
"This is wrong," Sonia Celaya said. "They threw my parents on the street as if they were criminals."
Police briefly detained everyone after the incident. Salvador Celaya was taken to a police station for questioning. He was released soon after, but Phoenix police are investigating the shooting.
So what led Gilbert and Scottsdale police to the Phoenix house in the first place? Police have not said if either the Celayas or Vance, the nephew, are suspected of crimes and none have been arrested.
But both police departments have been investigating several crimes they believe are connected to one man: Erasmo Ruiz Villarreal, 23.
Earlier this week near the house, police found a Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle they believe Villarreal had stolen Sunday during a home invasion in Scottsdale, according to Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark. And a truck used in the crime was registered to the Phoenix house, Clark said.
Moreover, "other investigative sources" pointed to the house as a place where police could find stolen goods from a Gilbert burglary Villarreal is suspected of, Clark said.
Sonia Celaya said the truck that was registered to the house is hers, but it was in the repair shop Sunday and it had not been stolen or missing.
Villarreal is a suspect in a carjacking, kidnapping, aggravated assault and home invasion. Police believe he was helped by one or two people in each crime. They consider him dangerous. Gilbert police ask anyone with information on him or the case to call (480) 503-6500.
The Celayas are staying with Sonia's brother, a lawyer, in Tempe. They are considering legal recourse against the police departments, she said.
As is standard with any police shooting, the Gilbert Police Department's Office of Professional Standards will conduct an inquiry to determine if proper procedures were followed, Duncan said.
Thursday afternoon, Gilbert police revisited the site, raking through the house's remains for signs of the stolen goods. Duncan didn't know whether anything was found.
Sonia Celaya was not home when the incident took place, but she said she wished she had been there to try to prevent what happened.
"Thirty-five years they've been here," she lamented. "Thirty-five years."
Before the fire, the family was getting ready for Christmas - and Celaya's 44th birthday on Dec. 27. "Happy birthday," she said bitterly.
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As well, I hope the citizens of Gilbert show up at their next city council meeting and pitch a royal fit. I hope both state and federal prosecutors follow up on this. Unbelievable, flashbangs for a "search warrant." This stuff must stop.
