BIG DISTURBANCE AT HOME OF PHOENIX POLICE CHIEF

Two bounty hunter companies swarmed a house in Phoenix looking for an Oklahoma fugitive and – oops – it turned out to be the Phoenix police chief’s home

On Tuesday around 10 p.m., eleven armed bounty hunters swarmed a house in Phoenix to arrest an Oklahoma fugitive wanted for skipping a court hearing on drug charges. Talk about a big oops, a really big oops, the targeted house was the home of Joseph Yahner who happens to be Phoenix’s police chief.

Two bounty hunter companies, NorthStar Fugitive Recovery and Delta One Tactical Recovery, teamed up to conduct the mistaken raid after receiving a tip posted on their Facebook page from an Oklahoma phone number.

Brent Farley, 43, owner of NorthStar Fugitive Recovery, was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. Phoenix police have obtained search warrants for the weapons used by the bounty hunters.

Here is how The Arizona Republic Described the botched raid:

In the video, a pickup truck is in the driveway of Yahner’s home, and several people are near the front door. Several times, someone yells, “Roderick, open the door,” while a voice from the house yells back. The door eventually opens and a man inside says, “Turn the light off” twice to the man outside holding a flashlight before the door shuts.

The exterior lights of the home then turn on, illuminating the three figures, two of whom appear to be wearing bulletproof vests. The door opens wide to a shirtless man exiting the house while holding something in his hands. That something was a baton, [Phoenix Police Sgt. Trent] Crump said.

“After awakening him (Yahner) from a dead sleep, he comes out in protection mode,” Crump said. “And when he does come out and he challenges them, I think they quickly come to realize (the mistake), with the exception of one of them.”

Crump said Farley refused to leave the property and continued to give commands to Yahner until another bounty hunter pulled him aside.

When police officers arrived, they found Farley’s employees and those of Delta One Tactical Recovery surrounding the home. One man banged on the door with an unholstered weapon and engaged in a verbal confrontation with the chief inside, police said. The bounty hunters’ vehicles were parked on the property, the headlights glaring as the man at the door shined his flashlight inside, Phoenix police said.

Several outside the chief’s home were armed, and police said Wednesday that they were serving a search warrant for the weapons. Riding alongside the armed bounty hunters was an 11-year-old and an adult relative of one of the employees, police said.

Farley is a convicted felon and may be facing additional charges.

If either of these companies had bothered to check out the address before conducting a reality TV-like raid, they would have discovered they were the victims of a prank, a prank that could have had deadly consequences.

When Chief Yahner’s lawsuits are finally resolved, he can retire as the owner of two fugitive recovery companies.