A Yardley family says their quiet early morning turned into a tactical nightmare when heavily armed DEA agents and Lower Makefield police smashed down their front door before sunrise, pulled everyone into the yard at gunpoint and handcuffed them, only to realize they had hit the wrong house. The federal lawsuit, filed this month, says the 4:30 a.m. raid on May 16, 2024 left the family, including a minor, shaken and determined to get answers in court.
Robert McLaughlin and his wife, Christine, allege that officers handcuffed them and forced their two children into the yard in their pajamas and underwear while agents swept through the home. The family says they stayed detained for roughly 45 minutes before a supervisor finally admitted the mistake, according to the lawsuit, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Federal prosecutors say the operation was actually aimed at neighbor Jose Correa, who lived next door and has been charged in a multi-state drug-trafficking indictment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark listed Correa among multiple defendants in the broader case but did not address the McLaughlins’ complaint. The Department of Justice has confirmed the indictment and Correa’s charges.
What The Lawsuit Says Happened
The complaint, filed May 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleges officers executed a warrant at the wrong address on the 900 block of Morgan Drive. Instead of going to 905 Morgan Drive, where Correa allegedly lived, agents are accused of battering down the door at 907 Morgan Drive and entering with rifles raised.
The suit names the DEA and Lower Makefield Township as defendants and accuses them of violating the Fourth Amendment. It also raises state-law claims that include false imprisonment, assault and negligent infliction of emotional distress, according to a press release from the plaintiffs’ lawyers that was carried by the National Law Review.
Legal Claims And Next Steps
The McLaughlins’ lawsuit, listed in court records as case No. 2:26-cv-03281, seeks damages and says the family intends to press for accountability in federal court, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. “The allegations in this complaint describe every family’s worst nightmare,” plaintiff attorney Brian Fritz said in the firm’s release on the filing, as reported by the National Law Review.
Township Response And Community Fallout
Lower Makefield officials have declined to comment on the pending lawsuit, and the DEA has not immediately responded to requests for comment, according to reporting. The Philadelphia Inquirer also reports that a township official offered to pay to fix the McLaughlins’ shattered front door, although no formal apology has been reported.
The case remains in its early stages, and the McLaughlins’ lawyers say they plan to pursue discovery and other steps to advance the claims. The complaint is still pending in federal court, according to local reporting and the plaintiffs’ release. For now, the family says the raid has left them with lingering anxiety about simply being in their own home, the filings and coverage indicate, and the lawsuit is their attempt to secure both compensation and changes to how warrants are carried out.
