This photo, provided by a Tropidelic band member, was taken on Tuesday after Cuyahoga County Sheriff deputies broke up their band practice looking to arrest someone who hasn’t lived at the home for three years.CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s deputies broke up a well-known reggae band’s practice with guns drawn on Monday looking for a man who lived at the house three years ago.
It was the second time deputies came to the home looking for the man, even though Tropidelic saxophonist Tim Younessi bought the home two years ago.
Court records say Harry W. Burton, 54, faces three felony charges, accusing him of failing to pay child support for his three children. Burton used to own the home, which he lost in foreclosure in 2011, county records say.
Younessi said he told deputies after the first raid last year that he bought the home and Burton no longer lived there. He also said he told deputies he doesn’t know Burton and never met him.
“It wasn’t bad until I saw someone with a gun,” Younessi said. “That could have gone wrong really fast. For a child support case, I don’t think their guns should have been drawn.”
Cuyahoga County Sheriff spokesperson John O’Brien said he is waiting to speak with a sheriff’s deputy supervisor about the incident before commenting.
Court records say Burton was indicted by a county grand jury in 2011 on three counts of failing to pay child support, all fifth-degree felonies. The indictment alleges he failed to pay support between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2011.
A summons was sent to Burton on Aug. 22, 2011 to the Sylvania Avenue home he no longer owned. Younessi bought the home in March 2012, county records say.
Younessi and lead singer Matthew Roads said the band was waiting for their bass player to start practice at Younessi’s home Monday when one member saw someone at the open front door who looked like a police officer.
Younessi said another band member thought the deputy was a friend playing a prank on the band and made a derogatory reference to police. When the deputies came down the stairs, the band profusely apologized, Younessi said.
Roads said the deputies ordered the band to stay in the basement while Younessi showed deputies around his home. There was no illicit material found and no one was arrested, Younessi said. Deputies used drug-sniffing dogs to search the home and the band’s van, Younessi said.
The ordeal shook the band members.
“At first we were in shock, then angry and then anxious,” Roads said. “You are put in a potentially dangerous situation, and to find out it wasn’t for anyone there and they didn’t find anything, it’s a pretty scary thing.”
Younessi said he was upset because a similar incident played out about a year ago. He said deputies came into his house about 4 a.m. looking for Burton. His roommate at the time let the deputies in, who had their guns drawn when he checked on the voices he heard in the kitchen.
“I want to know who screwed up after that,” Younessi said. “They knew he didn’t live here anymore.”
