Deported man arrested in Manatee County gets federal prison, prosecutors say
.jpg "Federal prosecutors say Kenthen Lavardo Swain, a 36-year-old Bahamian national, received two years in prison for illegal reentry to the United States after immigration authorities found him in the Manatee County Jail.")
A Bradenton resident will serve time in federal prison after immigration authorities determined he had illegally reentered the United States, prosecutors said.
A federal judge sentenced Kenthen Lavardo Swain, a 36-year-old Bahamian national, to two years in prison on Friday after he previously pleaded guilty in November to illegal reentry by an aggravated felon, court records show.
Deputies arrested Swain in October 2021 after prosecutors charged him in connection with an incident involving a Bradenton police officer. According to the arrest report, officers approached Swain’s vehicle in a parking lot on Fourth Avenue West when he allegedly put the car in reverse, causing the open driver’s side door to strike an officer’s arm.
Court records show Swain later failed to appear for a hearing, prompting a judge to issue a bench warrant. Swain evaded custody for about three years until deputies arrested him again in May.
Prosecutors initially charged Swain with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, but he later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of battery on a law enforcement officer, according to court records. A judge sentenced him to time served and ordered him to pay fines and court costs.
Immigration authorities located Swain in the Manatee County Jail following that arrest and determined he had returned to the United States without permission after three prior deportations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Federal prosecutors say he has prior felony convictions that include possession of controlled substances with intent to sell.
Senior U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara imposed the federal sentence last week in Tampa. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division investigated the case.
Federal officials said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative that targets illegal immigration, cartels, transnational criminal organizations and violent crime.
