Jun 6, 2008
Woman’s report triggered police raid
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by Maggie Caldwell
Editor
The May 18 police raid on a Dogwood Drive residence that left one man dead was triggered by a tip from an exotic dancer who reported seeing drug activity there, court documents disclose.
Chandra Parker, 27, described in the documents as an “adult entertainer,” told police she had witnessed drug use by Ronald Terebesi Jr., 42, homeowner of the property at 91 Dogwood Drive, and a friend, Gonzalo Guizan, 33, of Norwalk, early in the morning on May 18. Police had been wary of that household because of recent disturbing activity there. Those incidents included gunshots fired into the house on May 7 by an unknown party, and a medical emergency call in March from an identified woman that resulted in the arrest of Mr. Terebesi for possession drug paraphernalia and the seizure by police of a fully loaded and unregistered gun.
Easton police used Ms. Parker’s statement as probable cause to apply for a search warrant, obtained later that day and executed by the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Team, a regional police unit which assists with high risk operations.
The police raid on the small gray ranch house that drizzly Sunday afternoon shattered the peace of the quiet neighborhood near the Merritt Parkway, as officers threw disorienting flashbang grenades before entering the house with guns drawn.
As they entered, Mr. Terebesi and Mr. Guizan allegedly charged, “physically encountering two police officers,” according to the state police report.
At least one of the two officers fired his gun, fatally wounding Mr. Guizan.
Because of the death, state police are conducting an investigation into the raid and will report to the state’s attorney who will determine whether the actions by the officers were merited.
The two officers involved in the confrontation, Brian Weir of the Trumbull Police Department and Michael Sweeney of the Monroe Police Department, were identified in the report because they were both involved in the physical altercation. As their investigation continues, state police have not yet disclosed whether one or both officers fired the fatal shots.
Drug investigation
The investigation into the alleged drug use at the house is being conducted solely by Easton police.
Ms. Parker came into Easton police headquarters to make her complaint about the drug activity she witnessed at the Terebesi house at 9 a.m. on May 18.
Ms. Parker reported that she had been working overnight when she received a call from a friend, later identified as Mr. Guizan. He asked her to give him a ride from Norwalk to the Terebesi residence where they arrived at approximately 7 a.m. Ms. Parker said she had never met Mr. Terebesi before.
Shortly after arriving, Ms. Parker said she sat of a sofa with Mr. Terebesi and watched “hard-core porno movies” while he began smoking “something,” which she described as a small white and brown rock, according to the affidavit.
After spending approximately 30 minutes at the house, Ms. Parker left and decided to report the incident to Easton police.
Following the deadly raid that afternoon, state police took control of the premises and later turned over evidence related to the drug investigation to Easton officers. That evidence included a glass bowl and three glass pipes with residue and a Ziploc bag with white powder that tested positive for cocaine.
Later that evening, a small tin with white residue was also turned over to police, obtained from St. Vincent’s Hospital where Mr. Terebesi was treated for injuries sustained during the raid.
Mr. Terebesi surrendered to police on May 24 and was charged with felony possession of narcotics, and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Tuesday, Mr. Terebesi was arraigned in court and his case was assigned for June 19.
Lawyers’ reaction to raid
Earlier this week, Gary Mastronardi, Mr. Terebesi’s lawyer, reported that his client discovered a “live grenade” left at the house when he was cleaning the place with his mother.
Following the discovery, Mr. Mastronardi questioned the competence of the emergency response team and Easton officers.
Easton Police Chief Jack Solomon criticized early news reports about the incident, saying the canister discovered was a discharged flashbang device that posed no threat. He added that the canister was overlooked by state police when they were cleaning up the site following their investigation of the raid.
However Mr. Mastronardi still expressed outrage over the way the raid was conducted.
“I think maybe we should bring the Iraqi police here to train them instead of us going over there to train the Iraqi police,” he said. “There is such a thing in our law as knock and announce. It’s so obvious. It’s also important that police be safe and that they feel safe and secure in executing a search warrant. But in executing a search warrant, they also need to act reasonably and that is where the problem arises here.”
Jay Ruane, the attorney for the family of Mr. Guizan, called the conduct of the officers involved in the raid “egregious.”
“None of the police reports indicate that there were any reference to any weapons in the house,” said Mr. Ruane. “To attack the house in the manner that they did shows en extreme indifference and reckless disregard for human life.”
Mr. Ruane said the family is anticipating filing a wrongful death suit against the police force.
“We’re in the early stages. The family is still dealing with getting him properly buried,” said Mr. Ruane. “Because the death is a homicide as ruled by the state medical examiner, we can’t attend to the family’s wishes to have a funeral yet... We’re taking this one step at a time. The family is devastated.”
An anticipated full account
Chief Solomon said he is waiting on the state police to complete their investigation before releasing a full account of Easton’s investigation, including the chronology of events leading to raid.
He did reveal from the investigation into the May 7 shooting incident that a female visiting the house earlier that evening informed officers that Mr. Terebesi told her he “freebases crack cocaine day and night.”
Also, a female neighbor reported to police that her children found a bag full of syringes and drug paraphernalia in the neighborhood on May 17. Police are looking into that in conjunction with the other incidents.
“Terebesi denied knowledge of the bag,” said the chief. “He informed officers that his friends would not do hard drugs at the house.”
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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