Amherst man kills self during traffic stop; was facing felonies in Cuyahoga County

AMHERST — An Amherst man died from apparent self-inflicted injuries in a Middle Ridge Road church parking lot after Cuyahoga County authorities tried to arrest him on a warrant Friday morning. According to a news release from the Amherst Police Department, the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office requested officers assist them after deputies stopped 48-year-old Jason Swain's vehicle in the parking lot of the Trinity Evangelical Free Church at 46485 Middle Ridge Road about 10 a.m. Cuyahoga County deputies were attempting to arrest Swain on a warrant issued Aug. 24 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, according to Amherst police and Cuyahoga County court records. Swain didn't respond to officers' commands, so they approached his vehicle and found him dead "from an apparent self-inflicted injury," the news release said. Amherst police are investigating the incident, according to the news release. Amherst police spokesman Sgt. Brian Griffin said no further information would be released Friday. According to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court records, a grand jury indicted Swain on one count each of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, telecommunications fraud and grand theft as well as 13 counts of tampering with records, all felonies, in August. Swain was issued a summons to appear in court for an arraignment but when the summons failed to reach him by certified mail, Judge Michael Russo issued a warrant for Swain's arrest on Aug. 24, according to court records. All of the alleged offenses took place between March 2015 and August 2017, according to the indictment, and involved Swain and his trucking firm, SWX Cleveland LLC. Swain allegedly stole approximately $12,522 from multiple trucking firms by falsifying or filing fraudulent interstate fuel tax assessment returns, also known as IFTA returns, which are used to compute fuel tax payments for interstate trucking companies. Swain made fraudulent IFTA returns for at least a dozen trucking firms he worked for or with, according to his indictment. Swain filed to incorporate SWX Cleveland LLC with the Ohio secretary of state in November 2013. The address of the company matches Swain's address in court records. The company was dissolved in January 2021, according to another filing with the Ohio secretary of state. One of the victims named in Swain's indictment, American Power LLC of Dayton, filed a protest with the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department in September 2018 arguing that it wasn't liable for weight distance tax, penalty, interest and underreporting penalties because its contractor, SWX Cleveland, "filed fraudulent returns" according to documents on the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department website. American Power's protest to New Mexico authorities for underreporting was denied, and the company was ordered to pay $1,491.90 in underreporting penalties and interest, according to a summary of the decision. Swain had prior convictions for attempted felonious assault, aggravated theft and forgery in Cuyahoga County dating back to the mid-1990s, according to court records there. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.