Armed bounty hunters mistakenly raid home of Phoenix police chief

Bounty hunters raided the wrong house in Phoenix, and paid the price

(Image credit: USA Today/Phoenix Police Department)

published 6 August 2015

The sketchy world of American bounty hunters collided with the long arm of the Phoenix Police Department on Tuesday night, and the police won.

Around 10 p.m., armed, black-clad men from two bond recovery firms — NorthStar Fugitive Recovery and Delta One Tactical Recovery — swarmed a house in Phoenix, demanding entry to search for a fugitive wanted on drug-related charges in Oklahoma. The men picked the house based on "unconfirmed information from social media," the Phoenix police said Wednesday, and that was their first mistake: They had raided the home of Phoenix Police Chief Joseph Yahner, who was not amused.

Responding to a 911 call from one of Yahner's neighbors, police surrounded the bounty hunters, arresting at least one, Brent Farley, on charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Farley, 43, is the owner of NorthStar and has two previous convictions, the Los Angeles Times reports, one for theft and the other related to sexual misconduct with a minor. On Wednesday, the Phoenix police released a cellphone video of the incident, which must have been frightening and was clearly infuriating to Yahner. At the end, if you watch below, you can see him come out in his underwear. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.