http://www.komonews.com/news/proble...ker-House-279623662.html?mobile=y&clmob=y&c=n
Raid of man's home finds guns, bunker, drugs and former Sonic
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- When police raided a Kirkland man's home earlier this month they found drugs, an arsenal of weapons, a firing range in the crawlspace and a former Seattle SuperSonic.
Neighbors of an alleged drug house in Kirkland are just learning some of the frightening details inside the home next door.
Neighbors had been suspicious for months of what was going on inside the house. They saw lots of traffic, people coming and going at odd hours, and heard lots of odd "bangs." Several said they were living in fear. But the firing range bunker was a surprise they didn't discover until after the early morning police raid on October 4.
Neighbors along the 14000 block of 108th Avenue NE woke up to SWAT officers with a megaphone calling for the people inside to come out with their hands up.
"It just kind of takes away your feeling of safety and security," said a neighbor named Jean who didn't want her last name used.
In fact several neighbors said they'd been concerned for months, but didn't want to be identified. There's still some concern the man who lived there might return.
Police arrested the homeowner, Trigg Bjorkstam, who has lived in the home for years. They seized 26 firearms. All but two were loaded, and they included assault rifles and a sawed off shotgun.
Court records show police found a ladder leading down to a seven-foot deep bunker Bjorkstam allegedly dug into the crawlspace, which he told police he used as a firing range. Police said that's of particular concern since in addition to being in a neighborhood, the house is just 300 feet away from an elementary school.
"One day we heard a big bang and a billow of smoke," said a neighbor.
Several neighbors, including an elderly woman who didn't want to be identified, said they heard a big bang coming from the house or the driveway in front just a few days before the raid.
Police also seized methamphetamine and heroin. Bjorkstam is charged with dealing both.
"I was scared poop-less to tell you the truth," said the elderly woman who told us she was traumatized and still having trouble sleeping at night.
Also taken into custody at the home and then later released was former Seattle SuperSonic Robert Swift. The Problem Solvers profiled Swift last year after he'd fallen on hard times and was allegedly refusing to leave the home he'd lost to foreclosure. No charges have been filed against Swift.
In the court records, police consider Bjorkstam an "extreme danger to the community," adding the bunker firing range beneath the house shows, "he has no concern for the safety of anyone".
Neighbor Mike put it simply, "I'm glad he's gone because he's a danger to society and to people who live around here."
Neighbors now want to make sure this is a permanent end to the drug activity here. Bjorkstam is set for arraignment October 22nd.
Raid of man's home finds guns, bunker, drugs and former Sonic
KIRKLAND, Wash. -- When police raided a Kirkland man's home earlier this month they found drugs, an arsenal of weapons, a firing range in the crawlspace and a former Seattle SuperSonic.
Neighbors of an alleged drug house in Kirkland are just learning some of the frightening details inside the home next door.
Neighbors had been suspicious for months of what was going on inside the house. They saw lots of traffic, people coming and going at odd hours, and heard lots of odd "bangs." Several said they were living in fear. But the firing range bunker was a surprise they didn't discover until after the early morning police raid on October 4.
Neighbors along the 14000 block of 108th Avenue NE woke up to SWAT officers with a megaphone calling for the people inside to come out with their hands up.
"It just kind of takes away your feeling of safety and security," said a neighbor named Jean who didn't want her last name used.
In fact several neighbors said they'd been concerned for months, but didn't want to be identified. There's still some concern the man who lived there might return.
Police arrested the homeowner, Trigg Bjorkstam, who has lived in the home for years. They seized 26 firearms. All but two were loaded, and they included assault rifles and a sawed off shotgun.
Court records show police found a ladder leading down to a seven-foot deep bunker Bjorkstam allegedly dug into the crawlspace, which he told police he used as a firing range. Police said that's of particular concern since in addition to being in a neighborhood, the house is just 300 feet away from an elementary school.
"One day we heard a big bang and a billow of smoke," said a neighbor.
Several neighbors, including an elderly woman who didn't want to be identified, said they heard a big bang coming from the house or the driveway in front just a few days before the raid.
Police also seized methamphetamine and heroin. Bjorkstam is charged with dealing both.
"I was scared poop-less to tell you the truth," said the elderly woman who told us she was traumatized and still having trouble sleeping at night.
Also taken into custody at the home and then later released was former Seattle SuperSonic Robert Swift. The Problem Solvers profiled Swift last year after he'd fallen on hard times and was allegedly refusing to leave the home he'd lost to foreclosure. No charges have been filed against Swift.
In the court records, police consider Bjorkstam an "extreme danger to the community," adding the bunker firing range beneath the house shows, "he has no concern for the safety of anyone".
Neighbor Mike put it simply, "I'm glad he's gone because he's a danger to society and to people who live around here."
Neighbors now want to make sure this is a permanent end to the drug activity here. Bjorkstam is set for arraignment October 22nd.
my old roommate coached him in the d-league...total mess...i think ownership wanted to draft him b/c he was local (bakersfield)....it was a couple of years ago at least....but dude went MIA....he called his agent to see if he knew where he was...agent said.........."f*ck that guy"...stay off the meth kids!
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba...ddict-busted-with-grenade-launcher/ar-BBdDdAT
Ex-NBA player is heroin addict, busted with grenade launcher
Former NBA first-round pick Robert Swift was charged Thursday with illegal possession of a shotgun, less than a month after he was found living in a home that was raided by police as part of a drug bust.
Swift, who was the No. 12 pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in 2004, was living in a home with 54-year-old Trygve Lief Bjorkstam, who is a drug dealer. Bjorkstam has admitted to growing marijuana and dealing heroin and meth from his home. He also built a gun range in a bunker below the home and had 18 guns there to protect the drug-selling business.
According to KOMO News in Seattle, Swift was found with a sawed-off shotgun and grenade launcher in his bedroom. King County prosecutors also described Swift as a heavily armed heroin addict. A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent said Swift admitted to being a heroin addict, but said he was not a dealer. Swift also said that he acted as the muscle to confront another dealer about a purchase that went wrong.
Here’s how a Redmond, Wash. police officer described the conditions of the home:
“There were used needles, methamphetamine pipes with residue, baggies with residue and pieces of used aluminum foil scattered in plain view throughout the residence and in both suspects’ bedrooms,” the officer said in court papers.
Swift is not in jail, but he is being held on $20,000 bail.
Swift last played in the NBA in the 2008-2009 season. He played in Japan in 2010-2011. Swift also made headlines last year for leaving behind disgusting conditions at a foreclosed property he was eventually vacated.
Ex-NBA player is heroin addict, busted with grenade launcher
Former NBA first-round pick Robert Swift was charged Thursday with illegal possession of a shotgun, less than a month after he was found living in a home that was raided by police as part of a drug bust.
Swift, who was the No. 12 pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in 2004, was living in a home with 54-year-old Trygve Lief Bjorkstam, who is a drug dealer. Bjorkstam has admitted to growing marijuana and dealing heroin and meth from his home. He also built a gun range in a bunker below the home and had 18 guns there to protect the drug-selling business.
According to KOMO News in Seattle, Swift was found with a sawed-off shotgun and grenade launcher in his bedroom. King County prosecutors also described Swift as a heavily armed heroin addict. A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent said Swift admitted to being a heroin addict, but said he was not a dealer. Swift also said that he acted as the muscle to confront another dealer about a purchase that went wrong.
Here’s how a Redmond, Wash. police officer described the conditions of the home:
“There were used needles, methamphetamine pipes with residue, baggies with residue and pieces of used aluminum foil scattered in plain view throughout the residence and in both suspects’ bedrooms,” the officer said in court papers.
Swift is not in jail, but he is being held on $20,000 bail.
Swift last played in the NBA in the 2008-2009 season. He played in Japan in 2010-2011. Swift also made headlines last year for leaving behind disgusting conditions at a foreclosed property he was eventually vacated.
He played on the final 4 team for LSU was the Gatorade high school player of the year and #1 college basketball recruit in the nation coming out of high school.
When he was in college and the NBA he went by the name stromile swift not Robert Swift.
