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.
