ICE agents hit dead-end in Spanish Wells raid (Island Packet)

ICE agents hit dead-end in Spanish Wells raid
By FITZ McADEN
fmcaden@islandpacket.com
843-706-8110Published Saturday, February 16, 2008

Spanish Wells resident Lori Scott opened her front door at 6:50 Wednesday morning and found herself confronted by two officers with no-nonsense looks on their faces, wearing flak jackets and boots, and armed with handguns.
Several more officers were in the driveway -- she estimated at least 10 -- along with three unmarked Suburbans and a van.
One officer flashed his badge and said they were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the U.S. Homeland Security Department.
"He asked me my name," Scott said. She told him.
"He asked me how long I'd lived there," she said. She told him.
Then he said, "'We're going to need to search the house,'" Scott said.
"No," she said. With her husband out of town, she was alone. Besides, the agents didn't show her a warrant, she said.
The agents left a few minutes later without the man they were looking for -- Dr. James D. Johnston, a cardiologist who formerly practiced on Hilton Head Island and who used to live in the house.
Scott was thoroughly shaken up, and now she and her husband, Harry Scott Jr., want an apology from ICE -- in writing.
"It was scary as hell," Lori Scott said. "All those officers looking like they were ready to attack." If any neighbors saw the activity, she's worried about what they'll think.
"If anybody saw the Suburbans and them in their get-up, it looked like a drug bust," she said. A letter from ICE would help set the record straight, she said.
"They want a letter so they can show it to people in the neighborhood," said Ken Perkins, a Raleigh, N.C., attorney who represents the Scotts.
Lori Scott said she didn't know much about Johnston, her home's former owner.
Johnston was a popular local cardiologist until he lost his license to practice in South Carolina after a series of professional and personal problems related to alcoholism.
It also came to light that Johnston had been in the U.S. illegally for years. He was a Canadian citizen and never obtained the proper documents to live and work here. He was deported in 2005.
So why are the agents looking for Johnston 2 1/2 years after he was deported and why did they think he might be in his old house?
To the first question, Richard Rocha, a spokesman for ICE, said the agency "doesn't disclose how it derives its intelligence." To the second, he said the house is the last known address ICE agents have for Johnston.
Easily obtainable property records, however, show Johnston sold the house on Sept. 26, 2005, to one couple, who sold it to the Scotts on April 16, 2007.
But Rocha said property records aren't always reliable: "It's important to note that property records do not necessarily indicate the true physical address of a fugitive. Many fugitives actively seek to avoid detection by limiting their exposure in public databases."
As for the apology the Scotts want, Rocha was not optimistic. An ICE deputy field officer in Atlanta has already spoken to Perkins, the Scotts' attorney, explaining "why our officers showed up at her home and has apologized for any concerns."
If the Scotts believe the ICE agents acted inappropriately, they should contact ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility, Rocha said.
Perkins said the ICE agent who apologized to him during a phone conversation said the agency has a policy against issuing written apologies.
Lori Scott says it'll be a long time before she forgets being awakened that morning.
"I look out the window and I see Suburbans and a minivan coming. Right there, I just died. I thought they were coming to tell me my husband had died. I started rifling through my clothes to get something on. I started going down the stairs and I see all those men standing around in front of the house.
"They tried to be cordial," she said. "But it was still scary as hell with all those officers looking like they were ready to attack."