Lawsuit over mistaken Pender County SWAT raid can proceed, judge rules

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit filed by a Pender County family whose home was mistakenly raided by law enforcement in 2024 can move forward.

On Thursday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina denied qualified immunity for officers involved in the April 2024 raid, allowing the lawsuit filed by Avery Marshall and Alisa Carr to proceed against the officers and their government employers.

The lawsuit alleges deputies from the Lee County and Pender County Sheriff’s Offices mistakenly raided the family’s home in Willard while searching for a suspect accused of vehicle break-ins.

According to court filings, investigators relied on a cellphone tower ping that placed the suspect somewhere within a broad area near the family’s home. Officers allegedly chose to raid the residence after seeing a Nissan parked outside, believing it belonged to the suspect.

The lawsuit argues officers failed to verify that the vehicle matched the suspect’s. Court documents state the Nissan parked at the home was a different model, 10 years older, had a different VIN and license plate, and was registered to Alisa Carr rather than the suspect or a relative.

The family claims officers carried out a heavily armed late-night raid, breaking windows and doors, deploying a flashbang grenade and holding their 9- and 16-year-old children at gunpoint while searching the home. The suspect was arrested the following day in another county.

In its ruling, the court found the officer who obtained the search warrant was not entitled to qualified immunity after allegedly making false statements in the warrant application by claiming officers had seen the suspect’s vehicle at the home.

The court also ruled that officers who executed the warrant were not entitled to qualified immunity because they allegedly failed to properly comply with the constitutional “knock-and-announce” requirement and continued searching after recognizing the vehicle at the home was not the one connected to the suspect.

In addition, the judge allowed the family’s federal and state constitutional claims seeking compensation for damage to their home to proceed against the sheriff’s offices.

“This decision is a massive first step toward getting justice for Avery and Alisa after they were subjected to a terrifying raid that never should have happened,” Institute for Justice attorney Marie Miller said in a statement.

Avery Marshall said the family is relieved the case will continue.

“That night caused our family so much trauma and pain, so we’re very happy that our lawsuit against those responsible for it can move forward,” Marshall said. “What happened to our family should never happen to anyone.”

The defendants have 14 days from the court’s order to file their response to the lawsuit.