SIXTEEN

“A Dynamic Entry”

Very early on Sunday morning, November 14, 2010, Lieutenant Gary Rohler and Detective Sergeant Roger Brown began surveillance of Matthew Hoffman’s residence at 49 Columbus Road. At that time, they discerned no activity in the residence or vehicles coming to or leaving the house.

Also early on November 14, Detective Craig Feeney of the Mount Vernon Police Department (MVPD) was contacted by Captain David Shaffer of KCSO. Shaffer told Feeney that KCSO wanted a Mount Vernon Police SWAT team to assist their office. Feeney passed this message on to Captain George Hartz of the MVPD, and a short time later Hartz told Feeney to start activating the SWAT team.

As the team was being put together, Feeney told all the members to congregate at the Mount Vernon Police Department headquarters. One of these members was Sergeant Troy Glazier. As Glazier said later, “All available team members met at the police department and prepared our gear . . . Information at that time was that KCSO had developed leads to a possible suspect in the case of four missing persons. We geared up and went to the KCSO office for a briefing on the case. During the briefing, two locations were discussed where the suspect might be . . . We staged at Richert Trucking on Columbus Road until it could be determined the whereabouts of the suspect.”

Around that same time, Detective Sergeant Roger Brown, Special Agent Joe Dietz, MVPD Captain George Hartz and KCSO Sergeant Jeff Jacobs went to the residence where Matt Hoffman’s recent ex-girlfriend now lived. After brief questioning, she confirmed that Hoffman was living at the house on Columbus Road and not at his mother’s home in Apple Valley. According to Detective Sergeant Brown, she also told them that Hoffman “normally did not park his vehicle at the residence due to the fear of it being repossessed.”

Detective Feeney recalled, “Captain Shaffer went with our team and updated us on all current information coming in. Just prior to executing the warrant, Captain Shaffer received information that it was likely the suspect we were looking for was in the residence.”

Glazier related, “With fresh information just developed that the suspect was most likely at the Columbus Road location, we headed that way. A marked KCSO unit was given a head start to get to the rear of the residence. The MVPD ESU van then proceeded to go do a ‘dynamic’ entry of the residence.” A dynamic entry was one where a battering ram had to be used to break down a door.

“The ESU van pulled up to the front of the house, and we exited and stacked up at the front door. We were executing a no-knock search warrant, so we did not immediately announce our presence. Patrolman DeChant used a door ram to force entry, and I deployed a flashbang distraction device inside the residence in the middle of the living room area. As soon as the distraction devices activated, the team entered the residence.” “Entered” was hardly the right word—they stormed in like a hurricane.

“Patrolman Weiser and Detective Feeney encountered a male asleep on the couch in the living room. They began to give him verbal commands to show his hands, and he was not immediately compliant.” (Whether Hoffman was being deliberately uncooperative or was merely groggy from lack of sleep was unclear).

Feeney stated, “We secured the male on the floor and identified him as the suspect. I escorted the male outside and re-entered the residence.”

Glazier added, “Patrolman DeChant and I began to clear the area and located a stairway to the upper half of the house. Once we were comfortable that the downstairs area was cleared, we proceeded upstairs.

“The first door I came to upstairs was locked and I kicked the door in but did not locate any other persons upstairs. But we did locate what appeared to be a marijuana growing operation in one bedroom that was not active. We gave the all-clear upstairs and I had that team do a slowed-down secondary search of the upstairs. Patrolman DeChant and I located a hole that had been cut through the ceiling of a bedroom closet to gain access to the attic.” The officers wanted to make sure no one was in the attic.

Glazier continued, “Patrolman [Tim] Arnold [of the Mount Vernon Police Department] located a door to the basement that was blocked by some kind of cabinet.” Patrolman Arnold moved the obstruction from the door, and Glazier was the first one to go down the stairs into the basement. At the bottom of the basement stairs there was a doorway to the right; Glazier looked that way and suddenly observed a person lying on a sleeping bag on top of a pile of leaves. He pointed his weapon and flashlight at the person and yelled at them to show their hands. A young female sat up, and Glazier saw that she was bound in various places with duct tape and her hands and feet were bound with yellow rope. She sat up and looked directly at Glazier.

The female that Glazier had just yelled at was thirteen-year-old kidnap victim Sarah Maynard.