In Oviedo, Florida, a mix-up led Seminole County deputies to mistakenly enter a Lake Mary residence while looking for a suspect linked to a shoplifting case.
Local reports from NBC affiliate WESH indicate that due to a miscommunication between Oviedo police and the sheriff’s office, deputies breached the incorrect home.
The incident began when deputies knocked on the residence of Victor Gordillo Jr. just after 10 p.m. on a Sunday night back in June.
Within the house were the man’s spouse, Jennifer, their children, and some relatives who were visiting at that moment.
The incident quickly escalated when deputies requested Gordillo Jr. to exit the house. His refusal prompted deputies to force their entry before he could shut the door.
Gordillo Jr., a 20-year Army Reservist, had just returned home from duty. Deputies then wrestled him to the floor and handcuffed him, Wesh reported.
Reports outlined that the arrest’s catalyst was a June 8 shoplifting event at a now-defunct Winn-Dixie in Oviedo.
The Oviedo Police noted that store managers turned to surveillance footage after a worker claimed to see a man take four bags of shrimp, each worth $30, from the frozen food section and leave the store without paying.
Police said the video for the license tag led them to Gordillo Jr.’s father, Victor Washington Gordillo, 70.
Deputies realized their mistake nearly half an hour after Gordillo Jr.’s arrest, and he was taken by paramedics to a hospital for treatment.
The sheriff’s office said several deputies involved in the incident were reprimanded and received remedial traning.
Reporters said that the family’s attorney intends to sue in both federal and circuit courts and the state attorney’s office declined to prosecute the alleged shoplifiting case against Gordillo Jr.’s father.
