Drug investigators entered the wrong house while trying to serve a search warrant last week.

Investigators from the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office, the 12th/21st Judicial Drug Task Force and the Barling Police Department had the homeowners handcuffed by the time they realized the mistake, said Capt. Kevin Nickson.

All the paperwork for the search warrant was correct, said Prosecuting Attorney Dan Shue.

The night-time search warrant was to be executed at a Holly Avenue residence, according to court records.

Instead, authorities entered another home on Holly Avenue where a man, woman and baby who are "law-abiding citizens" live, authorities said.

Authorities said the door to the residence was unlocked, and they opened it and walked in.

Investigator Cpl. Anthony Sacco was out checking the address on the mailbox as other investigators entered the house. Once inside, Sacco alerted Nickson, who also was there, about the mistake.

The man and woman were not arrested and handcuffs were taken off them. A baby was also present, but was asleep the entire time.

"You can't apologize enough for a screwup like that," Nickson said.

While it was a Drug Task Force case, the majority of law enforcement officers were from the Sheriff's Office.

The protocol normally followed before executing a search warrant calls for investigators to scout out the location prior to the search. That was not done in this case.

"That's the kind of mistakes we can't afford to make," Nickson said.

Investigators later served the search warrant on a nearby house, where they arrested three people and recovered marijuana from the residence, said Nickson.