I heard Ladar speak on this topic. Apparently his apartment isn't on the first floor and only has a balcony out back. He just walked out the front door, as he says it.
You're being very literal minded if you interpret 'leave the rear of his apartment, get in his car, and drive away.' wrongly. I mean, his car wasn't parked on his balcony, was it? It's obvious what is being referred to unless you're picking nits.
The elevator leads to the parking garage, which is where Ladar parks his car. There are a couple of side doors that lead out into a shopping center/dog park, but if you leave that way you can't get to your vehicle easily.
The FBI says he drove away, implying he got in his car, which means he took the elevator down to the lobby and walked through the big glass doors into the garage.
The most likely just didn't get there in time to catch him in his apartment (or missed him while he was heading down the elevator). I don't understand why they are lying about something as stupid as this, though.
> The most likely just didn't get there in time to catch him in his apartment (or missed him while he was heading down the elevator)
That seems to fit what's said in the article and what Levison said himself ('I was just leaving my house'). What the FBI said _could_ be read to imply causality between their knocking and him leaving, but perhaps it's due to paraphrasing (and putting a spin on) the agent's report by the US attorney.
I don't understand why they are lying about something as stupid as this, though.
Obviously, they lie because they can.
There are no consequences for government officials who lie, even under oath. As procedures have become more and more formal, the immunity of officials for lying has become more ironclad. The result is that they do it reflexively. They lie now just because it's a habit and nobody ever is called to account for it, except private citizens.
If you're a private citizen, making a false statement to the feds is a felony. It doesn't even have to be a lie -- just a mistake or faded memory is automatically a felony.
