Salvador Celaya, a 73-year-old with Alzheimer’s disease, wore black rubber boots, dirty blue jeans and a flannel shirt Friday as he rummaged through the charred remains of the Phoenix home where he and his wife raised six children.
From under his gray hooded sweatshirt, the retired mechanic looked in despair at the burned furniture, piles of clothing and exposed walls.
From the rubble he recovered a brown case containing his prized electric guitar and set it in the driveway as drizzling rain fell on the home where for decades the family had spent Christmas.
The future for Salvador Celaya and his 69-year-old wife, Carlota, was uncertain two days after police serving a search warrant pried open the front door and launched a diversionary grenade through a bedroom window that started a fire that destroyed the house.
“We’re still kind of in shock and disbelief right now,” said their son, Oscar Celaya, 47. “You’re supposed to be afraid of criminals breaking into your house, not the police.”
Scottsdale and Gilbert police defended Wednesday night’s search, saying they expected to find evidence linked to a Scottsdale home invasion that occurred Sunday and suspect Erasmo Ruiz Villarreal, 23, of Phoenix.
“This is not a botched search warrant,” said Gilbert police spokesman Lt. Joe Ruet. “It’s not the wrong house, and it’s a very serious criminal that we’re after.”
Gilbert police had linked Villarreal to a carjacking in late October.
The Celaya family, who don’t have homeowners insurance, said they are now waiting for Gilbert to repair the wrongs they say have been done.
“I want to hear from the town of Gilbert,” Oscar Celaya said. “I want them to make reparations for what they did.”
Gilbert Town Manager George Pettit said that once all the information is available, the report will be forwarded to an independent claims adjustor who makes a recommendation for settlement.
The fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damage to the home at 6802 S. Eighth St. Gilbert police said firefighters and police were unable to extinguish the blaze because Salvador Celaya was shooting at them.
Oscar Celaya said his father, who had a .22-caliber revolver, was shooting out the front window so smoke and fire could escape.
A Phoenix fire investigator has ruled the fire was accidental because the diversionary grenade landed on a bed and set it on fire, said fire division chief Mike Sandulak.
“The label says: ‘Warning to not be deployed onto flammable objects,’ ” Sandulak said.
A Gilbert Police Department search warrant shows officers had the right to search Villarreal, the home and a truck that they believed was used in the home invasion.
They sought $7,000 in cash, electronics, weapons, a pit bull and rims from a Cadillac Escalade, the document said.
All they found was a bank statement for Sonia Celaya, the Celayas’ daughter, inside a truck on the property, according to a returned search warrant. Sonia Celaya, 43, lives at the Celayas’ home with their grandson, Ronnie Vance, 26.
Gilbert and Scottsdale police insist they were at the right home.
A Scottsdale Police Department report on the home invasion states that a Chevrolet pickup truck used to carry away stolen merchandise is registered to 6802 S. Eighth St. The truck was in the Celayas’ driveway when the warrant was served, said Scottsdale police spokesman Sgt. Mark Clark.
Sonia Celaya’s Chevrolet Silverado was in the shop when the warrant was served, Oscar Celaya said. His mother’s truck was in the driveway, he said.
The family insists that they don’t know Villarreal.
“First time I saw his picture was on the news last night,” Oscar Celaya said.
Phoenix police have not arrested Salvador Celaya, and many details of the case are still under investigation. Spokesman Sgt. Joel Tranter said they must determine why Celaya was firing his gun.
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