GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — New details are being released after a Gwinnett County family says they were wrongly targeted during a drug raid that left thousands of dollars of damage in their home.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden first spoke with Ana Jimenez, the woman at the center of the investigation, on Channel 2 Action News on Wednesday.
Seiden has now obtained copies of the search warrant that led to a raid on Jimenez’s home and learned the investigation started because of a tip from a private investigator.
“It seems that somebody is stalking her. It seems that somebody is harassing her and the cops are ignoring it,” attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez told Seiden.
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Ana Jimenez’s attorney says photos show thousands of dollars in damage left behind from the drug task force’s raid earlier this month.
“She’s guilty of being a woman and somebody else is harassing her. She has done absolutely nothing,” the attorney said.
According to the search warrant, the investigation began last month after the Gwinnett Metro Task Force received a tip from a private investigator that had been hired to look into allegations that Ana Jimenez was cheating on her estranged husband.
Instead of reporting details on an affair, the investigator told authorities he believed Ana Jimenez was dealing drugs.
The affidavit reveals that the PI told authorities that he tracked Ana Jimenez’s car with an electronic device and witnessed her driving to parking lots across Gwinnett County to meet with suspected buyers.
“That’s illegal. You can’t do that. You can’t just put tracking devices on people,” Chadha Jimenez said.
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Police also accuse Ana Jimenez of being paranoid. One investigator wrote that she walked outside her house and started looking around as if she was trying to determine if law enforcement or other drug dealers were watching her.
A member of the task force reported searching through her trash and finding baggies with a residue that tested positive for methamphetamine.
The search warrant return shows that authorities did not find meth. It only mentions two painkillers, a sleeping pill and a Delta 8 vaping pen, which is legal in Georgia.
“It’s funny that you say that you found residue, but you didn’t put it on your return and you didn’t put it in your report until after the media asked you for more information,” Chadha Jimenez said.
Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office Chief Cleo Atwater released a statement on Friday that read,
“The public has the right to expect efficient, fair, and impartial law enforcement services. Therefore, any alleged or suspected misconduct by the Sheriff’s Office personnel and/or Gwinnett County Metro Taskforce will be thoroughly investigated, and properly adjudicated to assure the maintenance of these qualities.”
— Chief Cleo Atwater
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