by Phillip Smith
No drugs were found in the home of a Tucson man shot and killed May 5 by a Pima County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team, the Arizona Star reported Friday. Former Marine Jose Guerena, 26, was killed by SWAT team members after confronting them with a rifle in his hand as they broke into his home to serve a search warrant related to a complex drug investigation.
Guerena’s was one of four homes searched by SWAT teams in the investigation that day. Police said they found about $95,000 in cash, an unspecified amount of marijuana, and firearms during the raids, but nothing especially incriminating was found at Guerena’s house.
Police said items seized at Guerena’s house included a pistol, paperwork, tax returns, insurance papers, bank statements, and a bank card. They also found body armor in a hallway closet and US Border Patrol hat in the garage. Owning weapons, body armor, and Border Patrol hats is not illegal.
No arrests were made at any of the homes searched.
Guerena’s wife, Vanessa, and their four-year-old son were in the home when it was raided. Vanessa Guerena has said she saw armed men moving around her house and woke her husband, who was sleeping after working all night at his job in a mine. She and the child hid in a closet while Guerena went to confront the intruders.
Police originally said Guerena fired at officers before they returned fire. They had to revise that statement when it was revealed that the safety on Guerena’s gun had not been switched off.
Artilcle From StoptheDrugWar.org — Creative Commons Licensing
