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Police Arrest Suspect In 1980 South Lake Tahoe Murder

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) - A Carmichael man was arrested last week for the murder of a 16-year-old boy at a South Lake Tahoe gas station nearly 32 years ago.

Andrew Evan Sanford, 50, was arrested by South Lake Tahoe Police last Wednesday. He was booked at the Sacramento County Jail and then transferred to El Dorado County the next day.

Richard Swanson was killed during a robbery at a Shell gas station at the "Y" at Lake Tahoe Boulevard and Emerald Bay Road on Aug. 14, 1980. He was working the night shift as a lone gas station attendant at the time of his death. He was reportedly found bound and gagged in the service area of the station.

Swanson was severely beaten around his face and head. The loss from the cash drawer was estimated to be $761.02. Swanson's wallet was also stolen. It contained $190 from his first paycheck at the station.

"We have waited 31 years for this day, but we never gave up hope. It has been a long wait, but God told us to be patient and justice would come," Richard's parents, Ron and Sharon Swanson, said in the statement.

No details were released on what led investigators to Sanford. The El Dorado County District Attorney's Office is in charge of the prosecution.

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