Defense Says Broadway Home And Garden Operator "Trusted People"
posted February 21, 2006
Prosecutor Paul Laymon said the owner of Broadway Home and Garden on South Broad Street sold "huge" amounts of a key meth ingredient to meth dealers for several years.
But defense attorneys said Joe Swafford had no way of knowing what the large amount of iodine was being used for. "He trusted people" who told him they were using it for treating horses, attorney Paul Cross said.
Swafford is standing trial in Federal Court on conspiracy to manufacture meth, conspiracy to distribute iodine for meth production and possession of distribution of meth products.
Judge Curtis Collier is presiding over the trial, which reconvenes on Thursday at 1:15 p.m. and will not be held on Friday. Judge Collier said most of next week is available for the trial.
Prosecutor Laymon said crystal iodine is "one of three things you gotta have" to produce meth under the formula most commonly used in this area. He said it comes in liquid, flake and pellet forms, and Swafford "sold all three in huge quantities."
The prosecutor, who is now based in Washington handling major drug prosecutions, said Swafford sold as much as five pounds of iodine at a time. He said it can be used to treat thrush in horses, but only in very small amounts. He said other treatments are mainly used now for horses, instead of iodine.
He said Swafford was familiar with horses, having owned them and attended horse shows.
The prosecutor said in October 2001 that County Det. Tommy Farmer went by Broadway and told Swafford to be aware that he should be careful about selling large quantities of items that could be used to make meth. But he said it was later found that a number of area meth dealers were getting iodine from Swafford.
He said undercover agents, who were wired, made 20 large purchases of iodine at Broadway. He said tapes of those purchases will be introduced.
Also, he said some 20 convicted meth dealers will also take the witness stand to tell of their purchases from Swafford.
He said Swafford would only take cash for the large iodine buys, and he would seldom charge tax. He said he would often stuff the cash in his pocket.
Prosecutor Laymon said Swafford would always ask what the iodine was for and he would only sell to those who said, "Horses." He said, "You had to respond, 'Horses.' That was the password that got you into the magic club."
He told the jury that Swafford turned to selling iodine after his business began to fall off. He said the iodine came to be "essentially the only item he was selling."
The prosecutor said one man will testify who went to Swafford for treating his horse with a thrush ailment. He said the iodine he got from Swafford was so powerful that it crippled the horse.
He said the man was angry and confronted Swafford, who said, "I am so sorry. I did not know that's what you were going to use it for."
The prosecutor said the only employees of the store came to be Swafford, his wife, and sometimes a laborer.
He said when Swafford was arrested, Det. Farmer asked him why he had sold the large quantities of iodine. He said Swafford replied, "You see where our store is located on Broad Street in a rundown part of town. I was having trouble surviving. A man's got to do what a man's got to do."
Attorney Cross said the store was founded in 1943 as Broadway Feed and Seed, and he said it was "more like a country store." He said it included a bench and rocking chair and at one time had a pot-bellied stove.
He said the store carries some 8,000 items, not just iodine.
He told the jury that many other items were marked up higher than the iodine and he said the iodine price was "competitive."
The attorney said Swafford "is not trained to be able to spot who is a meth manufacturer and who is not. At the end of the day, he's charged because he trusted people."
Attorney Tom Greenholz, who represents the JES Corporation along with Hugh Moore Jr., said Swafford worked there as a child and operated it like his father, who also would stuff cash in his pocket.
He said the iodine sales were up front and not out of the back of the store secretly.
He said Swafford is 63 and has a daughter and grandson. He said he attends Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church.
He said he should be found not guilty "and let him go home."
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