Victim of Mistaken Raid Paid $17,000
They had the wrong address and the wrong man, and the mistake cost the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department $17,000.
The county paid Lee Laningham the money as a settlement after deputies who were searching for marijuana mistakenly raided his Thousand Oaks home instead of his neighbor’s on Sept. 14, said Chief Assistant County Counsel Frank Sieh.
Laningham received the settlement along with a personal apology from Sheriff Larry Carpenter.
“We never denied it. We clearly made a mistake,” said Richard Rodriguez, a deputy chief with the force. “Sheriff Carpenter felt very strongly about speaking with Mr. Laningham personally. “
The officer who led the raid--Senior Deputy Kim Garrett--was suspended for four days, removed from the narcotics squad and put on patrol, Sieh said.
Garrett appealed the punishment to the county’s Civil Service Commission and settled the case last week.
Sieh said he could not disclose terms of the settlement because it was a personnel matter. He said Garrett remains on patrol.
Garrett could not be reached for comment.
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