Arson suspect last convicted of arson in 1995

Kevin Todd Swalwell, the man arrested this morning in connection with a string of fires in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood, was last convicted of felony arson in 1995.

Swalwell, now 46, was sentenced to 10 ½ years in prison in November 1995 for setting three fires in his grandmother's apartment complex on Aurora Avenue North.

Swalwell, who was a 32-year-old laborer at the time, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson for those fires set at the Echo Lakes Apartment complex, in the 19500 block of Aurora Avenue North, in July 1995 and a house fire set in February 1994.

The Feb. 21, 1994 house arson occurred while Swalwell was living in the neighborhood with his grandmother. At the time, he allegedly blamed the fire on his cousin, who subsequently passed a polygraph.

Detectives were immediately tipped to Swalwell in that case because the arsonist used the Feb. 17, 1994, edition of The Seattle Times to build the fire. When a member of the victims' family asked Swalwell's grandmother if she had seen anything, he noticed part of the Feb. 17 edition on her table.

With her permission, he checked her recycling bin and when he could not find the rest of that day's edition, he notified police.

Information from The Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com