Virginia state police tie up 75-year-old woman while they raid wrong apartment

A 75-year-old Virginia woman said she was tied up while state police raided her apartment.

Virginia State Police said they executed a search warrant April 10 at the Henrico apartment of Ruth Hunter as part of a drug investigation.

Hunter said state police burst through the door that morning, and she feared someone had broken in to rob or kill her until the officers identified themselves.

“(They) took my hands with a (zip) tie thing and said, ‘You’re under arrest,’ and started asking questions,” she said. “The more I told them I didn’t know these people, the more he continued.”

Hunter said police told her what they were looking for, but she insisted she had nothing to do with the investigation.

“They asked me if I had ever stored drugs for anybody, and I said, ‘How dare you insult my integrity,’” Hunter said.

She said police suggested her granddaughter might be involved in the case, and Hunter became angry.

“I sat up in my bed, like, how dare you try and bring my granddaughter into this stuff,” Hunter said. “She’s a law-abiding citizen, works for a living, she don’t even like coming here.”

Hunter has lived at the Village at Arbors apartment complex for about six years and largely keeps to herself.

She said state police ultimately arrested a man who lives two doors down from her, and his fiancée said authorities apparently went to Hunter’s apartment by mistake.

“Just so happened they came to the apartment and they got it mixed up,’ said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

State police declined to comment on the case, saying the drug investigation remains open.

The warrant issued by a magistrate lists Hunter’s address and apartment number, but it shows police found nothing inside her home.

Hunter said the raid had left her fearful and contemplating a move, but she’s also angry.

“I’m very irritated and angry, he never said, ‘I’m sorry,’ never apologized for having the wrong house,” she said. “He said, ‘You got to get someone to fix that door.’”

Watch this video report posted online by WTVR-TV: