Drugs, bunkers, gun range, arsenal and former Sonics player found in Kirkland raid
TJ MARTINELL,
Oct 17, 2014
It seems too far fetched for even an episode of Breaking Bad.
A drug operation 300 hundred feet away from an elementary school. Underground bunkers for growing marijuana and later a shooting range. "Johns" crawling through side windows to solicit prostitutes. And former Seattle Sonics basketball player Robert Swift.
Yet that is what Redmond and Kirkland police found after they raided a Juanita home on the same street as Helen Keller Elementary, where they discovered a small arsenal of weapons and drugs following months of neighborhood complaints. The Reporter obtained the information in an investigation by obtaining hundreds of police and court documents through public records requests.
The owner, Trygve Lief Bjorkstam, 54, has been charged by the King County Prosecutor's Office with buying, manufacturing and selling methamphetamine and heroin out of his home on the 14000 block of 108th Ave. NE. His bail has been set at $60,000.
During the Oct. 4 raid, police found drug paraphernalia strewn inside of the house, as well as 26 firearms that included AK-47s, pistols and a sawed-off shotgun, according to police records.
They also discovered an entrance to a bunker located underneath his house inside his bedroom. Initially designed to be a marijuana grow operation, Bjorkstam admitted he has used it as a shooting range, the records continue. Upon further inspection, police determined that the guns had been fired while aimed at a neighbor's house across the street.
The Redmond police first began investigating the residence in August after receiving information from people claiming narcotics were being sold there, in addition to stolen property. Surveillance on the house for several months showed people enter the house for short periods of time and then leave, which they concluded was consistent with distribution of drugs.
A confidential police informant later made two purchases from Bjorkstam, noting his habit of carrying at least one firearm on his person at all times, which Bjorkstam claimed was intended to deter any potential robbers, according to court documents.
After collecting the necessary evidence for a search warrant, the Redmond police carried out the raid on Oct. 4, a Saturday, when activity at the elementary school and nearby daycare centers would be minimal and lower the risk of danger to children.
After the raid was carried out, Bjorkstam was arrested inside. He was read his Constitutional rights and then waived them, giving the police the combination to his safe. Among the drug paraphernalia allegedly found in the home included a frying pan with heroin, baggies containing crystal meth, capped and uncapped needles and pieces of used aluminum foil, the documents continue.
Bjorkstam's truck was impounded pending a search warrant after a K9 unit gave a positive alert to the presence or odor of drugs. Police found a drug ledger inside the truck, plus more used aluminum foil and two pen tubes with burn marks and residue, the documents continue.
During a later interview, Bjorkstam allegedly confessed to selling meth and heroin from his home. When police remarked about its close proximity to the elementary school, he replied "I know, that's not good, is it?"
Bjorkstam also claimed he was not "a big time drug dealer" and was dealing meth and heroin to pay his bills and support his own drug habits, police records state.
Also detained during the raid was Seattle Sonics former NBA center Robert Swift, 28, according to Kirkland police. He was not arrested or charged with any crime pertaining to the raid.
For neighbors, there is both a sense of relief and disquiet. While they are pleased to see a drug operation shut down, the fact that it was going on in the first place has left many of them alarmed. Following the raid, some of them approached the police and thanked them for the arrest, stating they had been living in fear and were well aware of the alleged drug activity, with one neighbor saying they delayed a family vacation.
continued here http://www.kirklandreporter.com/news/279575982.html
TJ MARTINELL,
Oct 17, 2014
It seems too far fetched for even an episode of Breaking Bad.
A drug operation 300 hundred feet away from an elementary school. Underground bunkers for growing marijuana and later a shooting range. "Johns" crawling through side windows to solicit prostitutes. And former Seattle Sonics basketball player Robert Swift.
Yet that is what Redmond and Kirkland police found after they raided a Juanita home on the same street as Helen Keller Elementary, where they discovered a small arsenal of weapons and drugs following months of neighborhood complaints. The Reporter obtained the information in an investigation by obtaining hundreds of police and court documents through public records requests.
The owner, Trygve Lief Bjorkstam, 54, has been charged by the King County Prosecutor's Office with buying, manufacturing and selling methamphetamine and heroin out of his home on the 14000 block of 108th Ave. NE. His bail has been set at $60,000.
During the Oct. 4 raid, police found drug paraphernalia strewn inside of the house, as well as 26 firearms that included AK-47s, pistols and a sawed-off shotgun, according to police records.
They also discovered an entrance to a bunker located underneath his house inside his bedroom. Initially designed to be a marijuana grow operation, Bjorkstam admitted he has used it as a shooting range, the records continue. Upon further inspection, police determined that the guns had been fired while aimed at a neighbor's house across the street.
The Redmond police first began investigating the residence in August after receiving information from people claiming narcotics were being sold there, in addition to stolen property. Surveillance on the house for several months showed people enter the house for short periods of time and then leave, which they concluded was consistent with distribution of drugs.
A confidential police informant later made two purchases from Bjorkstam, noting his habit of carrying at least one firearm on his person at all times, which Bjorkstam claimed was intended to deter any potential robbers, according to court documents.
After collecting the necessary evidence for a search warrant, the Redmond police carried out the raid on Oct. 4, a Saturday, when activity at the elementary school and nearby daycare centers would be minimal and lower the risk of danger to children.
After the raid was carried out, Bjorkstam was arrested inside. He was read his Constitutional rights and then waived them, giving the police the combination to his safe. Among the drug paraphernalia allegedly found in the home included a frying pan with heroin, baggies containing crystal meth, capped and uncapped needles and pieces of used aluminum foil, the documents continue.
Bjorkstam's truck was impounded pending a search warrant after a K9 unit gave a positive alert to the presence or odor of drugs. Police found a drug ledger inside the truck, plus more used aluminum foil and two pen tubes with burn marks and residue, the documents continue.
During a later interview, Bjorkstam allegedly confessed to selling meth and heroin from his home. When police remarked about its close proximity to the elementary school, he replied "I know, that's not good, is it?"
Bjorkstam also claimed he was not "a big time drug dealer" and was dealing meth and heroin to pay his bills and support his own drug habits, police records state.
Also detained during the raid was Seattle Sonics former NBA center Robert Swift, 28, according to Kirkland police. He was not arrested or charged with any crime pertaining to the raid.
For neighbors, there is both a sense of relief and disquiet. While they are pleased to see a drug operation shut down, the fact that it was going on in the first place has left many of them alarmed. Following the raid, some of them approached the police and thanked them for the arrest, stating they had been living in fear and were well aware of the alleged drug activity, with one neighbor saying they delayed a family vacation.
continued here http://www.kirklandreporter.com/news/279575982.html
