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A San Jose man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing the mother and brother of his ex-girlfriend inside the family’s Pleasanton home earlier in the week, the Weekly has learned.
The suspect, 32-year-old Allen Swadley, is currently being held at Santa Rita Jail without bail, according to a press release from the Pleasanton Police Department on Friday.
The victims have been identified as Pleasanton residents 67-year-old Lori Simonds and 28-year-old Evan Simonds – who used to go by middle name James growing up, according to a family friend who spoke to the Weekly.
“This outcome is the result of our detectives working nonstop on this case, with support from our Real-Time Information Center and allied agencies,” Pleasanton Police Chief Tracy Avelar said in the press release. “We appreciate the patience of our community as we worked through a rapidly evolving investigation, and I’m proud of the work done to keep the community safe.”
Dozens of supporters of the Simonds family joined together on Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil at Ken Mercer Sports Park in the family’s neighborhood.
“They were just innocent, sweet, community members,” Jacki Bott, a family friend who helped organize the vigil, told the Weekly on Friday.
“She was just wonderful,” Bott said of Lori Simonds. “She just had joy and love for (her kids). They were her whole world.”
A 2016 graduate of Amador Valley High School, Evan Simonds was a young tax professional and aspiring pro wrestler known in Northern California wrestling circles by his alter ego, “The Sex Hawk” Lars Lugar, according to Next Level Pro Wrestling, who paid tribute to son and mother on social media.
“As a wrestler, Evan was a graduate of Stoner U and recently made his NLPW debut at the Christmas Chaos Rumble. Though his time with NLPW was brief, he was a fun and colorful part of our NLPW family, and his loss is felt deeply,” NLPW officials wrote in a Facebook post. “At our next event, we will open the show with a 10-bell salute and a moment of silence in Evan’s honor.”
A GoFundMe campaign, “Support for Melissa After Tragic Loss”, is currently up to collect donations to cover funeral and other costs in support of the victims’ daughter and younger sister – the lone surviving member of the immediate family. The effort had raised over $73,000 as of Sunday afternoon.
Rocking the normally quiet neighborhood midmorning Wednesday (Feb. 18), Pleasanton police descended upon the 3100 block of Joanne Circle at around 10:05 a.m. responding to reports of gunshots coming from what would later be identified as the Simonds home. Upon arriving, officers discovered the bodies of the mother and her adult son with multiple gunshot wounds, according to Lt. Nicholas Albert.
Following the preliminary investigation that day, detectives identified Swadley as their prime suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest, according to Albert. San Jose police officers contacted Swadley during a traffic stop in that city late Thursday evening, both departments confirmed.
In a Facebook post Friday, the San Jose Police Department said its officers positively identified a vehicle that triggered its automated license plate reader system as the same one associated with the double-homicide in Pleasanton. Swadley was reportedly behind the wheel and there was a passenger who has not been identified publicly.
“Crime isn’t defined by city boundaries, and neither is police work,” SJPD stated. “This swift apprehension and arrest were made possible by real-time information sharing between neighboring law enforcement agencies. A suspect who killed two innocent people thirty miles away in another city is now off the streets and behind bars.”
Swadley was detained without incident and transferred to the custody of the Pleasanton police before he was booked at Santa Rita Jail on two counts of murder, according to Albert. He turned 32 in jail custody, with records stating his birthday was Friday.
“Multiple firearms have been recovered from Swadley’s vehicle and residence,” Albert said in Friday’s press release. “Further testing will be required to determine if any of the firearms were used during the crime.”
Swadley had no prior criminal history, but he had a “recent dating relationship with a family member of the victims”, according to Albert, who declined to specify whom Swadley dated. Bott confirmed that the suspect had been dating Lori Simonds’ daughter.
Swadley appears to be an athletic trainer, previously hired by the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for its sports medicine team. He was listed as among the athletic trainers employed by the sports medicine care team at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health – although his photo and profile were removed from the hospital system’s website some time Friday.
The case has been turned over to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for charging.
According to the county jail’s inmate locator, Swadley is being held without bail at Santa Rita. He is set to be arraigned Tuesday (Feb. 24) at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.
“The Pleasanton Police Department is continuing to investigate the suspect’s motive for the crime,” police stated in Friday’s press release. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victims.”
For Bott and her son, the news of their friends’ deaths has hit hard. She said Evan Simonds and her son were friends for most of their lives; they grew up together, worked their first job together and would often visit each other’s houses for family nights.
Bott described Evan Simonds as one of the most inclusive and all-around friendly people, while his mom Lori Simonds was one of the most hardworking people devoted to providing for her son and daughter and to give them the best life imaginable in Pleasanton, particularly after losing her husband some years ago.
“They were the closest family,” she added. “You couldn’t separate the three of them. They were like the three musketeers.”
Bott also told the Weekly that the Simonds house was burglarized later in the week after the police investigation wrapped up at the property.
“Sadly, there has been another heartbreaking setback. Last night, the home was broken into, and two vehicles were stolen. It is difficult to comprehend how anyone could target someone already enduring such profound loss,” Bott posted on Facebook.
Albert confirmed Friday that police are currently investigating a report of a burglary at the victims’ residence, but declined to reveal specifics.
