Family says feds wrongfully raided home (WSVN-FL)

Family says feds wrongfully raided home
Posted: 8/13/2010 at 5:10 am EDT

HIALEAH, Fla. (WSVN) -- A family is claiming federal agents raided their house when they were looking for someone who was not there.

The Boveda family said federal agents raided and ransacked their home Thursday morning. Even the front window was smashed. Broken glass was scattered across the floor and nearly every door in the house was busted open. Even their closets were cracked.

"I can't believe what I was seeing. I said don't break the window, I'll open the door for you, but you got the wrong house, you got the wrong house," said Orlando Boveda.

Federal agents said the raid was part of a larger operation to arrest alleged drug smugglers, and the house they raided was the last known address of a suspect who they were looking for.

"The guy said open the door with your hands up," Idalmis Mesa said.

"They were looking for weapons or drugs or something," recalled Boveda.

The family said they were all held at gunpoint. "We have machine guns pointed at us. They don't tell us what's going on. They won't tell us who they are looking for. I'm scared as hell," Mesa said.

Boveda has marks on his chest he claims are from being thrown on the floor. "We were scared that we got shot because they were nervous with a rifle pointed at you," he said.

Boveda said immigration agents told him they were looking for his son, 29-year-old Michael Boveda, but he currently sits behind bars at Broward's jail. "Michael is in your control. Michael is in jail for one year already," said the elder Boveda. He said the agents mistook his 17-year-old grandson for his son.

"My brother is full of tattoos and my son doesn't have one tattoo on him," said Mesa. "How do they not know that this person they are looking for has been in jail for the last 10 months. That should be detective 101."

Mesa said they were all pinned down, even a teenage girl. "My daughter is 14 years old. You can tell by looking at her, there is nothing she's going to do. Why so they need to have her on the floor with a gun to her head?"

The Bovedas documented the damage. They said their 3-year-old pet boxer ran off in all the chaos and has yet to return.

Paramedics went to the house to check on the 68-year-old grandfather who survived a heart attack a few months back and now suffers from chest pains.

"There was no need to get to all this," Idalmis said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement saying: "There were no injuries to the occupants of the house nor to police officers on the scene. The case is still under active investigation, and we are currently seeking additional members of the organization."