GBI raids wrong Buford home in drug case

A drug investigation in Buford this week went awry when GBI agents raided the wrong duplex.

It was the second such mistake to occur during a Gwinnett County drug raid in the past two months.

GBI spokesman John Bankhead said state agents along with Gwinnett and Hall County police narcotics officers had been keeping watch over a drug suspect’s home at 4237 DeJohns Way for about three weeks. Officers thought they saw the suspect enter the duplex around 2 p.m. Tuesday and moved to arrest him, Bankhead said.

A no-knock search warrant had already been obtained from a judge — allowing law enforcement to enter the suspect’s home without knocking or announcing their presence — because the duplex was in a known gang area, Bankhead said. However, the agents and officers mistakenly forced entry into a duplex adjacent to the suspect’s home.

No one was home at that unit, Bankhead said. The agents also banged on the door of the other unit in the same duplex, startling residents inside. Within minutes, Bankhead said the officers figured out that they were at the wrong building. They went next door and found the suspect, Jesus Bello-Quinones.

Bello-Quinones was reportedly in possession of five ounces of cocaine, two ounces of methamphetamine and a small amount of marijuana when he was arrested. He was charged with drug trafficking and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

Jainet Rios, 25, a Home Depot supervisor, said she was at work when the officers came to her parents’ home. She said her parents, her two sisters ages 18 and 19, and the 19-year-old’s infant baby were terrified when drug investigators began yelling at them with their guns drawn. She said the incident especially shook up her mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder and was recently released from a psychiatric treatment facility.

Rios said the frightening encounter with police brought her 46-year-old mother “back to square one” — causing her to panic over loud noises.

“All they said to my mom was ‘it’s just a simple mistake, ma’am,’” said Rios, who is furious about what happened. “It’s a simple mistake that could be avoided if people would do their jobs.”

Bankhead said the agents regret the mistake. He disputes Rios’ claim that the agents entered the Rios house — he said they only banged on that door and dented it. The agents apologized to the duplex residents whose doors were damaged and paid for the doors to be replaced that same evening, he said.

“We are doing a complete review of what happened,” Bankhead said. “We will make corrections about procedures and will do additional training if necessary.”