DOPEY CROOKS GET IT WRONG

Raid Home Seeking Grow Op

Maybe they've been smoking too much of the stuff. Three thugs invaded a
residence in the 300 block of Home Street at gunpoint Wednesday night in
the hopes of finding a marijuana grow operation -- only to discover they
had the wrong address.

"Obviously a circumstance where criminals again show there's a reason why
they're in that business," said Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Bob Johnson.

A 26-year-old resident of a two-storey house at 357 Home St. answered a
knock at the door about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, when he was confronted by a
man brandishing a handgun.

Gun Held To Neck

"The intruder held the handgun to the resident's neck and forced him back
into the house," Johnson said.

The gunman and two accomplices forced the resident and one of his roommates
to lie on the living room floor. Johnson said that's when the armed man
demanded: "Where is the grow op?"

The two residents (two others weren't home at the time) told the intruder
they didn't know what he was talking about and there was no dope in the
house, Johnson said.

The accomplices searched the 1,409-sq.-ft. home, but came up empty-handed.

"The main guy with the gun then asked what the address was and when he was
told, he yelled at his cohorts that they had come to the wrong address,"
Johnson said.

Before fleeing, the criminals warned the residents not to call police.

"These individuals may have been dyslexic," Johnson said. "We don't know
what the reason for going to the wrong house was, but we're checking every
combination of the house number and the street to see if there are any grow
operations at those locations. Of course, it's not a simple process. We
can't just walk in and see. Certainly our investigation is fairly intense."

A 26-year-old resident told reporters yesterday there had been a fan in an
upstairs window that might've been behind the mix-up.

'We Are Shocked'

"It sucks. We were shocked," said the resident, who didn't want his name
printed. "We fear for our personal safety right now."

Three of the residents are students at the University of Winnipeg and Red
River College, he said, while the fourth is employed.

Other than a garage break-in a couple months ago, the roommates hadn't had
any problems since moving in during the summer.

The gunman was described as aboriginal, about 26 years old and 6-feet tall
with a skinny build, short black hair and a pock-marked face. He was
wearing jeans and a black jacket.

One accomplice was white, about 40, 5-foot-8 and 250 pounds with short
greying hair. He was wearing a red winter jacket and Sorel-style boots.

The other accomplice was white with a dark complexion, average build and
wearing a black hoodie.