Swafford sentenced to two years in federal court

Boyd Swafford, the longtime Whitley County bootlegger turned pill dealer, learned his fate Wednesday morning when he was sentenced to two years in prison by U. S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for allowing drugs to be sold at his Rockholds residence.

Due to health issues, Caldwell said that it would be recommended that Swafford serve his prison term at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington._Caldwell also said that because of his health and age, she does not feel he poses a threat to the community. He was allowed to leave the courtroom Wednesday, having previously bonded out and must self-surrender to the Bureau of Prison by 2 p.m. on March 17. Upon being released from prison, Swafford will be under supervised release for a period of three years.

Swafford previously admitted running “an open air drive-thru drug operation” from his garage on McNeil-Corn Creek Rd. in Rockholds and entered a guilty plea on Monday, August 18, to one count of using and maintaining a place for distributing controlled substances. As the result of a plea agreement, two other counts of the federal indictment – money laundering and conspiracy charges – were dismissed Wddnesday.

The U.S. Attorney recommended the 24-month sentence to be served at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington. This is at the bottom end of the advisory guideline range of 24-30 months.

In addition, the U.S. Attorney will not object to the federal sentence running concurrent with a state sentence on an unrelated receiving stolen property felony charge.

Swafford received a two-year prison sentence in Whitley Circuit Court last year after entering an Alford Plea to two counts of receiving stolen property. An Alford Plea means Swafford did not admit guilt, but acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him at trial.

According to the federal plea, entered before Special U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, Swafford financially benefited from a drug distribution ring operated between January 2004 and February 5, 2005, from his garage on McNeil Corn Creek Road in the Rockholds community of Whitley County.

Swafford and other members of his organization were arrested by detectives from Operation UNITE after a raid on his home and two adjacent properties.

“At the time of the raid, 31 people were cited by officers for attempting to purchase illegal drugs,” said Dan Smoot, law enforcement director for UNITE. “It was difficult to conduct the searches due to the high volume of individuals who admitted they were there for the sole purpose of purchasing pills.”

Legal action was halted several times in order to serve necessary paperwork and over Swafford’s argument that he was too sick to stand trial. In May, U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell ruled that sufficient accommodations could be made and set a trial date for September 8.

According to court documents, James L. Swafford, Noel Perkins Jr., Steve Curnutt and other “workers” sold hydrocodone tablets for about $9 each and xanax pills for about $2 each to individuals who would “pull up in their vehicles and place an order for certain substances,” the plea agreement states. “The workers” would then deliver the ordered substances to the individuals.”

“On occasion, 300 people or more purchased controlled substances on a given day,” the agreement states. “On average, 150 hydrocodone tablets, 300 to 400 xanax pills and numerous cases of beer were sold on a given day.” It is estimated that not less than 40,000 Schedule II controlled substances were sold during the 12-month investigation.