Imagine the surprise on 84-year-old Anna Jakymek's face when Cook County Sheriff's officers broke into her house Thursday night in a drug raid gone wrong.
Jakymek and her husband Andrij, 89, who suffers from Alzheimers, were in bed when a squad of officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Gang Crimes Unit allegedly smashed their way into the elderly couple's Southwest side home. Sheriff's officers have not commented on the situation to confirm or deny reports.
“I hear bad noise, I thought somebody breaks in,” Jakymek said. "In that time about 20 guys came in and they said they were looking for guns and narcotics. They tell me to go into the bathroom ... They search everything."
At about 11:30 p.m. Thursday officers from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Gang Crimes Unit executed a search warrant on the home on the 5600 block of South Kilbourn Avenue, the Chicago Tribune reports. They smashed in windows and broke down doors in their quest for crystal meth, cocaine, guns and money.
"I was scared," Anna said. "I thought it was gang."
The Jaykmeks are Ukrainian immigrants who have lived in the house since 1967, according to their son Andrew. Andrew said his father is a retired tailor and his mother worked as an elevator operator into her late '70s for Peoples Gas Co.
Andrew Jakymek says when he arrived, police admitted they’d raided the wrong house.
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“When I arrived the officer explained they had misinformation, but said his job was over, and he was leaving. They left a copy of the warrant, but he absolved himself of any responsibility for the raid or the damage," he told the Tribune.
Andrew took a videographer around the house showing the damage, pointing out ripped open cabinets and damaged doors and windows. Jaykmek estimates the damage to broken doors, locks and windows will cost up to $3000 dollars to repair.
Cook County sheriff's police said they had recieved a tip from a respected informant that illegal activity was going on at the residence.
"This informant has previously provided credible information that has assisted law enforcement agencies in solving other crimes," a sheriff's spokesman said in a release. "That informant identified this house as the location where illegal activity was occurring. After providing information to prosecutors and judges, our request for a search warrant was approved. As soon as we entered the home, we knew this couple was not involved in the activity alleged."
