VISTA : Mistaken Raid Leads to Claim
A 56-year-old woman whose Vista apartment was raided by sheriff’s deputies who were looking for a previous tenant has filed a claim against San Diego County.
Glafira L. Gutierrez, a native of Oaxaca, Mexico, has asked for more than $10,000 in damages after deputies obtained a search warrant and raided her home Sept. 12 while looking for a drug suspect who no longer lived there. The suspect had moved out before Gutierrez moved into the apartment with her husband and three of her 10 children. She said the deputies stole $630 from her family’s life savings of $1,500 that was hidden in a duffel bag.
The claim also alleged that Deputy Perry Templeton knocked down the 5-foot-tall woman, got on top of her, pulled her head back by the hair and banged her head on the floor several times.
Sheriff’s Department officials said they had a legal warrant for the search but conceded that the suspected heroin dealer they were seeking no longer lived in the apartment. No drugs were found.
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