Boy, 17, Held on Suspicion of Shooting Father to Death in Norco
A high school sports standout was held Thursday on suspicion of fatally shooting his divorced father, an Orange County probation officer, at the father’s Norco home.
The body of Robert L. Swearingen, 52, was found in his garage Wednesday. He had been shot with his own .38-caliber service revolver, said Mark Lohman, a spokesman for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The victim’s son, a 17-year-old student at Villa Park High School, was taken into custody at his father’s home, Lohman said.
Authorities said the shooting apparently occurred after the pair argued last Friday night. When the elder Swearingen didn’t show up at work for three days, his supervisor asked deputies to go to the home.
Friends said the son often complained that his father pressured him to perform.
But the father’s co-workers said he appeared supportive of his son.
Authorities said the boy lived alternately with his mother in Orange and his father.
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