One of the men arrested after going armed to the wrong house to retrieve an allegedly stolen rifle was found guilty of aggravated assault by a Baxter County Circuit Court jury Friday and sentenced to four years in prison.
The jury in 31-year-old Greg Anthony Garrean’s case deliberated in the guilt/innocence phase of the trial for about 21 minutes and took approximately the same amount of time recommending the prison sentence. Circuit Judge John Putman passed sentence and remanded Garreans into the custody of the Baxter County Sheriff to be held until he can be transported to prison.
Garreans’ case stemmed from a situation that played itself out in the early morning hours of September 19, 2019.
HOMEOWNER ARMED HIMSELF
A Baxter County sheriff’s deputy and investigators responded to a 911 call reporting armed men were threatening the homeowner at a residence along Ben Nevis Drive in Briarcliff.
According to investigative reports, Garreans was banging “heavily” on the front door of the home. He was armed with a shotgun. 31-year-old Kip Swadley was with Garreans and was also carrying a weapon.
The victim, Brooks Due, told deputies that he armed himself and eventually “convinced” Garreans and Swadley to lay down their weapons.
The victim said seeing the men with the guns put him “in fear of his life.” He testified that he still has problems associated with the event.
“They stole my safety from me and made me afraid in my own home,” Due testified. He said in addition to being in fear for his own life, “I was also afraid I was going to have to kill someone else that day.”
Due said at one point “I thought I was going to have to shoot Swadley before he finally put his shotgun down.” The victim said Garreans actually told Swadley to put the gun down.
Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism told the jury in his opening statement that Garreans “and two associates went to an innocent person’s house with loaded shotguns and a sword. It was clear they weren’t collecting for a charity.”
The third suspect, known only as “Alex,” was reported to be standing in the street with a “samurai-type-sword” on his shoulder. He has never been further identified.
A number of questions were asked during the trial about “Alex” but no further information came out to further identify him.
BAD INFORMATION LED TO WRONG HOUSE
According to the probable cause affidavit, the entire episode was based on bad information. Garreans told deputies he had discovered his AR-15 assault-type rifle missing and believed a houseguest had taken it.
He later received information that the suspected thief and the weapon were at the residence along Ben Nevis Drive.
The tip was bogus.
Both Garreans and Swadley testified Thursday. They said they intended no harm, and only brought the loaded shotguns in case someone at the residence shot at them.
They told the jury they thought they were going to confront the person suspected of taking the gun and that he might start shooting.
At one point in his testimony, Swadley said, “showing up at (Due’s) house with guns – that was my bad.” In answer to a question, Swadley said he would consider what happened at Due’s house an assault.
When he took the stand, Garreans said the whole episode was a mistake. “I just wanted to get my gun back.”
At one point, Garreans addressed the victim directly, “I am sorry we got the wrong house and I never meant anyone any harm.”
The homeowner said he had never heard of the person suspected of taking the rifle, and that neither the man nor any kind of stolen weapon had ever been at his home.
Due said few people came to his home outside his immediately family.
A surveillance system is reported to have pictured the three men arriving at Due’s residence. Due testified it was ironic “that they parked right by a sign that said, smile, you’re on camera.”
Both Garreans and Swadley were charged with aggravated assault stemming from the 2019 incident.
Swadley was put on probation for six years in the assault case. However, he was re-arrested in mid-November last year when officers went to his Gassville residence to conduct a home visit related to his probation.
They found drugs and drug paraphernalia in the residence.
Three members of the Swadley family – the father, Kevin, and brothers Kip and Jacob – were taken into custody.
Rachel Harrelson, identified as Jacob’s girlfriend, was also arrested.
Kevin Swadley’s charges were dismissed based on insufficient evidence and Jacob Swadley’s two cases are still open.
Kip Swadley’s probation was revoked and he was sent to prison. He is now serving time in the Varner Unit of the state prison system.
Harrelson was put on four years probation after pleading guilty to her charges in late January.
DEFENSE SAYS ORIGINAL VIDEO NOT PROVIDED
On Wednesday, Circuit Judge John Putman filed an order denying several defense motions related to a videotape of the event taken by the victim’s security camera.
A hearing was held Monday on the motions.
The video is alleged to show Garreans at the front door of the residence and Swadley standing next to a boat in the driveway. Both were armed with shotguns.
Garreans’ lawyer, Deputy Public Defender James Wallace, filed a motion to prevent the admission of evidence obtained from the security camera videotape.
In his motion, the defense attorney contends that he had asked prosecutors to provide the original tape, but has been told it is not available. What is available is what Wallace describes as still photographs taken off the videotape by investigators.
Wallace objects to admitting still pictures taken from the videotape because he cannot “perform a proper analysis” to determine if any of the pictures would provide evidence favorable to Garreans.
A check of the original videotape is the only way to determine if it had been tampered with, or if investigators had excluded pictures that would help the defense, Wallace contends.
MOTION TO DISMISS CASE ALSO FILED
A motion to dismiss the case was also filed based on the fact the original video was not available for the defense to examine.
Wallace alleges the “failure” of the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office to collect the original videotape during the investigation presented problems for the defense.
He said the fact the entire video tape was not available opened the possibility that the still photos were chosen by law enforcement because they best supported the facts as laid out in the probable cause affidavit.
Chism asked several Baxter County Sheriff’s office investigators if they had chosen only pictures that put Garreans and Swadley in a bad light. All denied that was the case.
He also had investigators discuss unsuccessful attempts to download the images from the videotape onto a thumb drive.
Chism said the fact the original footage from the surveillance system was not available was unfortunate, but the best evidence would come from Due who lived the event.
DRUG CASE OPEN
Garreans also has a drug case open in Baxter County stemming from an arrest last year.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Garreans was a passenger in a car that followed a U-Haul van into a location on 16th Street.
A Mountain Home Police Department (MHPD) officer followed the vehicles and checked the two females in the van and the two males in the car, including Garreans.
Garreans was found to have two active arrest warrants – one from MHPD and one from Marion County. He was taken to jail on the warrants.
Drug charges were filed when suspected methamphetamine was found in the area of the car where Garreans had been sitting.
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