THIBODAUX, La. -- Two Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office narcotics agents burst into the wrong house during a raid in Galliano earlier this week and now face possible disciplinary action.
Sheriff Craig Webre classified the mistake as "very rare" and said the agents, Lt. Chet Caillouet and Deputy Robert Mason, likely used the wrong two-story house as a reference point.
Hundreds of search warrants are executed each year, Webre said. He said he recalled only two such mistakes in the past 15 years.
"If you're the person on the receiving end, one in 1,000 or one in 100,000 is too much," Webre said.
Mike Lefort said he was lying on his sofa when officers broke his screen door Monday night and announced, "Police! Police! Get down!"
"They were apologetic afterward," said Lefort, 61. "They realized they had made a mistake."
Lefort added his mother, Thelma Lefort, had a tough time overcoming the initial shock of the police entering her home. The 83-year-old's blood pressure rose, her son said.
The Sheriff's Office replaced the wooden screen door with a new one, said Lefort, who added that he is deciding whether to take legal action.
Webre said he plans to insert an extra layer of security to prevent similar mistakes: one person will prepare the warrant and a second person will verify it before it is executed.
