CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — The President of The Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram says the two newspaper carriers, shot to death while on their delivery route early Friday morning, worked hard.
“They were some of the best carriers we every had,” said Brian Jarvis. “There was no better carrier, for sure. They made sure everybody got their papers everyday and they never had a complaint on their route.”
Jarvis said Fred and Freddy Swiger, a father and son team who had been delivering newspapers for 30 years on a contract basis, were two of the four victims killed around 4:30 a.m.
Investigators said they were innocent bystanders who were shot and killed when a suspect left a Locust Avenue home after having killed two other people in what was called a “drug deal gone bad.”
Jarvis said drug activity has been making its way into more of Clarksburg’s neighborhoods in recent years. “They were good neighborhoods and many good people still live there,” he said.
“It just seems that, sometimes, some of these houses and areas, they tend to get overrun with these drug issues and it is a poison that we are having trouble to eliminate.”
Jarvis was a guest on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline.” He said the Swigers built a connection with their customers that was evident with the calls that came in after their deaths.
“They delivered that route on foot, rain, snow, sleet, seven days a week, house to house,” he said. “They were extremely nice, loyal and cared very deeply about their customers.”