Last week, Arizona attorney Chris Scileppi filed notice of a $20 million lawsuit against Pima County, Ariz., on behalf of Guerena's family. The lawsuit provides a good opportunity to look back at what has happened since since the morning of May 5.
A review of the case and some more information, including
Michael Storie, attorney for the SWAT team and the Pima County police union, told the media that police found a "portion of a law-enforcement uniform" in Jose Guerena's home, suggesting Guerena was part of a home invasion crew that disguised themselves as police officers. Police reports released by the sheriff's department confirm the item to which Storie was referring was a Border Patrol baseball cap.
Storie also charges that Guerena had a past drug history, except.
The arrest appears to have resulted from little more than Guerena getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. There wasn't enough evidence to charge any of the men with a crime; all three were released, and their records were cleared. There's no indication that anyone "flipped" to give information leading to other arrests.
Even Storie concedes the police didn't have enough evidence against Guerena -- and didn't find evidence in his home during the raid -- to charge him with a crime. The question remains as to why the Pima County Sheriff's Department found it necessary to send a SWAT team to serve its search warrant for the Guerena residence in the first place.
Yeah, that is a damned important question
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