Arrest made in 31-year South Lake Tahoe Richard Swanson murder case; Carmichael, Calif. man faces charges

A Carmichael, Calif., man has been arrested in the 31-year-old murder case of Richard Swanson, South Lake Tahoe police report.
On March 28, 2012 Andrew Sanford, 50, of Carmichael, was arrested and booked in the Sacramento County Jail for the murder of Richard Swanson. The robbery/homicide occurred on Aug. 14, 1980 in South Lake Tahoe at what was then the Shell Gas Station located at the “Y” on the corner of Lake Tahoe Blvd and Emerald Bay Road, according to a press statement.

The arrest is the result of an ongoing investigation by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, the FBI, The California Department of Justice, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, according to a press statement.

South Lake Tahoe Police have been in contact with Richard’s parents, Ron and Sharon Swanson, who have provided the following statement: “We want to thank the investigators, South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office for pursuing this case and making this arrest possible. We have waited for over thirty one years for this day, but we never gave up hope. It has been a long wait, but God told us to be patient and justice would come.”

This arrest is an important step in the criminal justice process, and specific details related to the crime and the investigation are not being released at this time. The El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office is in charge of the prosecution, according to the press statement.

On August 14, 1980 Richard Swanson, who was 16, was murdered during a robbery at a "Y" gas station. His body was bound and gagged, his death resulted from suffocation.

It was December 2006, when Swanson's parents went unannounced to the South Lake Tahoe City Council, asking local authorities to step up their investigation so they could have family closure. The council at that time responded, providing money and support staff through the South Lake Tahoe Police Department to re-activate the case.

Financial support was also provided through Secret Witness, which has remained active at South Lake Tahoe since 1980. It was through the Swanson family that the Secret Witness program developed and has received continued support through the law enforcement and business community.

Ron and Sharon Swanson have since praised law enforcement for keeping the case going. Though the leads have been few and far between, the Secret Witness program remained committed to solving the crime.
A $10,000 reward was offered through Secret Witness for information that would help solve the case and lead to the arrest and conviction.

The case particularly hits home for former South Lake Tahoe City Councilwoman Kathay Lovell, who remembers the Swansons making an unannounced visit to the council in December 2006 meeting.

Speaking with the family before the meeting, Lovell recalls the Swansons demeanor as both "sad and frustrated" because the case had not been solved and no new information had come to light since the murder.

Lovell said of arrest that it had been the commitment of the City Council and Police Chief Terry Daniels to see that the investigation be opened up.

"Had the Swansons not come and asked for additional resources, I don't know if this arrest would have happened," she said. "The South Lake Tahoe Police Department should get all the credit for this. They never gave up."

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