Eanes ISD bus driver facing charges for stalking Taylor Swift
AUSTIN, Texas - A former Eanes ISD bus driver is accused of stalking pop-star Taylor Swift.
Metro Nashville Police said 26-year-old Eric Swarbrick sent more than 40 letters to Swift's record label threatening to rape and kill her.
Police said Swarbrick's letters became increasingly violent and sexual in nature and these latest charges have been filed to prevent a “tragic event.”
Swarbrick used to drive school buses for Eanes ISD, until the district learned he was facing charges in Tennessee.
“Our primary goal is the safety of kids and this person did not seem to be the type of person we'd want driving our kids,” said Dr. Tom Leonard, superintendent at Eanes ISD.
Swarbrick was employed by the district starting in 2012 after he passed fingerprint background checks through the Department of Public Safety. He stayed there for about a year before leaving on his own terms.
Then the district hired him back in May of 2018 after he once again passed fingerprint background checks. The district said he worked a little bit in the spring, trained through the summer, and drove buses for three days during the fall school semester.
“Then we got this report and, as soon as we got the report through Travis County law enforcement, we terminated him,” Leonard said.
The report claims Swarbrick sent dozens of letters to Swift's record label threatening to kill her, the owner of the company and himself.
Police said those letters also include statements that read, "If you oppose or undercut my soulmate, I will take you down. Maybe not the first time... Or the second time... Or the third or fourth or fifth... But I will (expletive) take you down and it will be a TKO."
Another reads, "Go ahead and call the police on me - tell them I’ve contacted you again. I don't care... You can't stop me. I am the male Taylor Swift, and I don't care who you are."
Swarbrick was previously charged with harassment in Nashville after he hand delivered three of his letters to the company - driving all the way from Texas to do so. He was booked into jail in Nashville, but was released under a pre-trial release program. After being released, police say Swarbrick wrote another dozen emails or letters to the record label and then missed his court date in Nashville.
Leonard said the school district will offer counseling and other help to students who may have had contact with Swarbrick, but, as of now, there are no complaints.
“We are unaware that he had any inappropriate contact with kids, did anything wrong with kids in our district. If they know of something, let us know,” said Leonard.
Metro Nashville Police said Swarbrick is in custody in Travis County and will be transferred back to Nashville.
If convicted, Swarbrick faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.