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The life 
& times 
of
Warren Swil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

V 1

 

Glendale News-Press July 27, 1999

If the bullying tactics used by the FBI in a recent raid on the home of an innocent Glendale woman were not an abuse of its police powers, then its laziness and rudeness certainly were. 

It was not a case of mistaken identity or an innocent error in reading an address. A little bit of routine investigative effort could easily have prevented what must have been a harrowing experience for 64-year-old Maria Robinson. To add insult to injury, the FBI did not even bother to apologize until after it found out the News-Press was going to publish a story about the case. 

Robinson was spending a quiet Friday afternoon at home July 9 when she was startled by a loud knock on the door of her studio apartment and a voice yelling, “Open the door, this is the police.” As she complied, Robinson said she was pushed aside by four FBI agents and two Glendale police officers. “They told me they had a search warrant, but when I asked to see it they told me they didn’t have to show it to me,” said Robinson. “They were so angry and abusive.”

While similar situations might pose an imminent danger to law enforcement officer’s lives and safety, there is no excuse for such arrogance. Furthermore, as we reported July 20, the investigation leading to the raid was so flawed even an amateur sleuth could have suspected the FBI had the wrong address. 

Agents were looking for Archak Zakarian, wanted on suspicion of murder. Zakarian had rented apartment No. 61 at Robinson's apartment complex, but when an FBI agent mistakenly said there were only 60 apartments in the complex, FBI documents show agents believed Zakarian had transposed the number to fool law enforcement. So, without any apparent effort to check who really was occupying apartment 16, they pounced on the unsuspecting Robinson. 

As they searched her tiny studio apartment, Robinson says she repeatedly asked why they were there. 
“I told them, ‘Just tell me what I have done,’ ” Robinson said. “They just looked at me with their guns drawn and did not say anything.” Fearing she was actually a victim of a home-invasion robbery, the distraught Robinson called 911 and asked that a police officer be sent to her apartment. She got a brusque brush-off. The officers had been in her apartment for about 12 minutes when Robinson heard one FBI agent tell another that they were in the wrong apartment, she said. 

Her 911 call did, however, bring out another police officer, whom Robinson described as polite and apologetic, but that wasn’t enough, she said. “I want an apology and I want them to make some changes so this doesn’t happen again,” she said. 

That’s the absolute minimum due in this case. FBI officials did apologize to Robinson July 19, after they were contacted for comment by the News-Press. However, this case is so egregious it would be appropriate if U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis H. Freeh personally apologized to the traumatized victim. 

Perhaps then she might be less inclined to file suit. Also, the FBI and law enforcement agencies everywhere should implement minimum standards for checking out an address prior to a raid -- if they don’t already have them. A reverse telephone directory could have immediately given officers a clue -- if they had bothered to look at one. This oversight and inattention to detail is simply inexcusable.