Olive Hill officer made arrest Wednesday evening
Olive Hill Police got more than just another suspected drug dealer when they picked up Daniel L. Swanner for trafficking in a controlled substance last night. They also got a murder suspect.
Swanner, 41, of Morton, Mississippi was arrested by Olive Hill Police officer R.D. Porter on Wednesday evening, June 10, on five counts that included receiving stolen property; fleeing or evading police; resisting arrest; theft by unlawful taking or disposition of an automobile; and trafficking in a controlled substance, first degree, first offense. On top of those five counts, though, was a warrant for his arrest in his home state of Mississippi that made Swanner a fugitive from another state, for a sixth offense.
Swanner has been a fugitive since earlier this month, when police identified him as a suspect in the May 28 shooting death of 37-year-old Jason Lee Dennis, at the Twin Oaks Campground and Mobile Home Park in Jackson, Mississippi. According to local ABC affiliate WAPT neighbors were shocked by the shooting death, remembering Dennis as a “sweet little guy” and mild-mannered neighbor who “never messed with anybody.”
Swanner is facing murder charges in the Dennis case. Mississippi is one of 32 U.S. states that has the death penalty as a possible punishment in murder cases.
We will update this story with more information as it becomes available.
Update 6/11/20 @ 10:12pm
Arrested alongside Swanner was Gena Freeman, 50, of Peral, Mississippi. Freeman was arrested by Kentucky State Police Trooper Tyler Daniels, on a warrant for murder in the same incident.
Also responding and assisting in the arrests were Sgt. Eric Ross, of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Eric Kouns, Kentucky State Police (KSP), Trooper Rufus Shearer, KSP, and Detective Daniel Cook, KSP.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com