A 54-year-old Michigan man is facing felony charges on two separate Louisville court dockets after police say he tackled an EMS worker out of a moving ambulance near Norton Hospital, an arrest that also triggered a 2005 warrant accusing him of kidnapping his wife and infant son. Robert Daniel Swartz was arraigned in Jefferson District Court on Tuesday following his arrest the day before, according to court records.
Louisville Metro Police officers responded to the assault involving EMS personnel at Norton Hospital around 6:49 a.m. on Monday, according to WDRB. Police allege an EMS employee first made contact with Swartz near the intersection of South 20th Street and West Broadway, and that during transport to the hospital, Swartz unbuckled his seat harness and tackled the worker inside the ambulance, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. The two then fell out of the ambulance's side door near South Brook and East Chestnut streets, with the EMS employee landing on their right shoulder, though the worker did not receive medical treatment for the injury.
Swartz was arrested in connection with the 2005 warrant, according to an arrest citation cited by the same outlet. He now faces a new charge of third-degree assault of an EMS, fire or rescue squad member.
A 2005 Warrant Resurfaces Two Decades Later
The 2005 case dates to January 31 of that year, when police allege Swartz went to his wife's Shively residence in the 2200 block of Amboy Drive and drove her and their 1-year-old son to an unknown location. According to the citation, he then hit and choked his wife and injected syringes into her forearms before taking her to a local hospital, where he allegedly threatened to hurt the child if she told hospital staff what had happened.
The woman convinced Swartz to take her and the child to a relative's house instead, according to the citation, and she ran from his car when they stopped for gas. She then went to Jewish Hospital, escaping the ordeal at a healthcare facility much like the one where Swartz's newest alleged offense unfolded 21 years later.
The outstanding warrant covers second-degree assault, first-degree wanton endangerment, two counts of kidnapping, witness tampering, terroristic threatening, and violation of a protective order. Swartz has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the 2005 case, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
No Expiration Date on Kentucky Felony Charges
Except as otherwise expressly provided, felony prosecutions in Kentucky are not subject to a limitation period and may be commenced at any time under KRS § 500.050, according to the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. That means, except where otherwise expressly provided, state prosecutors can pursue felony charges regardless of how many years have passed, placing Kentucky among a minority of states without a felony limitation period.
The warrant includes two kidnapping counts, while the new case charges Swartz with third-degree assault.
Bond, Conditions and What Comes Next
A Jefferson District Court judge set Swartz's bond at $10,000 cash for each case, totaling $20,000, and imposed home incarceration, strict no-contact orders, and a prohibition against contacting Norton Hospital properties. He is being held at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and is scheduled to appear in court again on September 30, according to the Louisville Courier Journal's reporting.
The case follows other recent Jefferson District Court arraignments involving serious kidnapping allegations in Louisville, including a Seventh Street Road crash case where a driver allegedly held a mother and infant at gunpoint. Swartz's next court date, on September 30, will determine how both the decades-old warrant and the fresh assault charge proceed.
