Nearly a dozen bounty hunters descended upon a Phoenix, Arizona house with guns drawn on Tuesday night, in an attempt to weed out a suspected fugitive. However, they ended up running into the top dog of the local police department.
Instead of discovering the runaway Oklahoma fugitive they were looking for, they were actually trying to raid the house of the Phoenix Police Chief Joseph Yahner. The bounty hunters said a social media tip led them to the house, where they believed they’d find their target.
According to the Arizona Republic, police said the incident began when two separate bounty hunter organizations, the Northstar Fugitive Recovery and Delta One Tactical Recovery, converged on Yahner’s home. A 54-second cell phone recording shows part of the scene, during which the bounty hunters can be seen around the property.
One man can also be seen pointing his flashlight at Yahner’s front door before the porch lights come on. The man is also yelling orders for someone to open the door.
Around 10:00pm local time, police received a 911 call about the incident. “We have somebody at our residence,” the caller said, identifying herself at Chief Yahner’s house.
“We have somebody, I don’t know if they’re bounty hunters or what they are, but they are … they just banged down our door and they’re looking for somebody,” she added.
Police said that when they got to the scene, they found the bounty hunters arguing with the police chief, who was still inside his house. When the bounty hunters explained themselves, officers told them the fugitive they we relooking for – a 310-pound, six foot three black man – was not there and said they needed to leave, the Arizona Republic reported.
The owner of Northstar Fugitive Recovery, 43-year-old Brent Farley was arrested the next morning “on suspicion of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct as a result of the incident,” the Republic stated, citing law enforcement.
Multiple guns were also recovered, according to reporter William Pitts of local NBC affiliate 12 News.