A Kirkland resident arrested last year in a regional SWAT raid for running a drug operation out of his home, a few hundred feet away from an elementary school, has pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court.

Trygve Lief Bjorkstam was sentenced in July to four years in prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of possessing drugs in his home, heroin and meth, with the intent to distribute. He also pleaded guilty to a third charge for prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

The home is located in the 14000 block of 108th Ave. NE. near Helen Keller Elementary in Kirkland.

The Redmond police first began investigating Bjorkstam’s residence in August 2014 after receiving information from people claiming narcotics were being sold there, in addition to stolen property.

Despite no criminal convictions, a Kirkland Reporter investigation last year revealed that Bjorkstam’s address had been the site of more than 40 police incidents during the past five years since the Kirkland Police Department took over from the King County Sheriff’s Office following the 2011 annexation of Juanita. Most of these incidents took place between 2013-2014. The incidents ranged from domestic violence disputes with Bjorkstam’s girlfriend at the time, to tenants who either had outstanding warrants or disputes with Bjorkstam over rental agreements.

It was during these repeated calls that police learned about the cameras installed on his property, the firearms he possessed and the alleged drug activity. Court documents also reveal neighbors had repeatedly called the police to report possible drug activity.

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. Neighbors also claimed some of the tenants Bjorkstam rented rooms out to worked as prostitutes and had their “johns” climb in through one of the windows on the side of the house, albeit it was not known whether Bjorkstam was aware of the activity.

During the Oct. 4 raid on his home, police found drug paraphernalia strewn inside, 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.

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.

Among the more unusual finds inside the house was former Seattle Supersonic player Robert Swift, who had recently been evicted from his Sammamish home, where the new owners also discovered a makeshift shooting range in the basement storage area. Although not initially arrested as part of the raid, he was later charged for having an illegal sawed-off shotgun.

The Reporter first broke the news that Swift was living in the house following the raid.

As for Bjorkstam’s house, it does not appear to have been sold, and a potential new owner may not be aware of the history of the home prior to purchasing. According to zillow.com, the address has not lost any property value since the raid, and other real estate sites do not contain any information about possible drug activity, nor does the King County Interactive Mapping Tool.

It also does not seem to have been declared a meth or drug lab in need of decontamination or to be condemned. Initial charges in King County District Court included the intent to manufacture meth and/or heroin, but the charges were not brought forward in federal court.

King County Public Health previously investigated alleged clandestine drug labs until state funding for the program ceased ended in 2010. Because of this, the list of Public Health’s contaminated sites have not been updated since then.

Public Health recommends anyone who wants to determine if a property is contaminated to hire a Washington State Certified Decontamination Contractor to assess the property. If the property rquires cleanup, they then have to submit a cleanup plan to Public Health for review and approval. Once it has ben approved, they perform the cleanup according to the approved plan and present a final report to demonstrate the property has been properly decontaminated.