SirBlazinBowl
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For the second time this summer, prosecutors Tuesday began to lay out their case against an 18-year-old man snared in a controversial drug sting in Great Barrington. Kyle W. Sawin of Otis faces three counts each of distribution of marijuana and committing a drug violation in a drug-free school zone in connection with sales he allegedly made to an undercover officer in the parking lot of the former Taconic Lumber store last summer.
A mistrial was declared in July after a Berkshire Superior Court jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case. If convicted of the school zone offenses, Sawin faces a mandatory minimum 2-year jail sentence. In his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Richard M. Locke said Sawin sold marijuana to undercover Berkshire County Drug Task Force member Felix Aguirre, three times during the four-month investigation that eventually netted 18 arrests.
Authorities said Sawin's sales, which allegedly occurred on June 30, 2004, July 6, 2004, and Sept. 3, 2004, took place in the vicinity of the lot, which is within 1,000 feet of both the Great Barrington Cooperative Preschool and the Searles/Bryant middle school. Sawin's attorney, Judith Knight contends that her client, who admitted to being a marijuana user, was the victim of entrapment targeted by a "wolf in sheep's clothing." "Kyle would no sooner pull into the parking lot than Felix Aguirre would be in his face ( asking Sawin to sell him drugs )," Knight said to the eight-woman, six-man jury. "And finally Felix Aguirre broke him down."
Locke said the evidence presented in his case would prove that no arm-twisting took place. "There was no yelling, or screaming, or threats to this young man," the prosecutor said. "He sold marijuana to the police officer freely, willingly and voluntarily." Authorities began their sting amid complaints from local residents of drug activity taking place in the lot, which had long been a hangout for teens and young adults, Locke said.
Seven of the defendants nabbed in the undercover operation including Sawin had no previous record and were accused of selling small quantities of marijuana. In the wake of the Taconic probe, a grassroots group, Concerned Citizens for Appropriate Justice, formed and sought to persuade District Attorney David F. Capeless to drop the school-zone charges against the marijuana defendants. Capeless refused, stating that it had been his office's policy to uniformly pursue school-zone violations in any case where they apply.
Two of the other defendants facing marijuana charges, John Rybacki and Justin Cronin, testified against Sawin during his first trial in July. Both men are slated to testify against Sawin in this second trial, as is a third man facing marijuana charges from the sting, Christopher Gennari, attorneys said Tuesday. This second trial is scheduled to resume in Judge John A. Agostini's court today with the testimony of Great Barrington Police Officer Paul Storti, who began his direct examination today.
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl (420Times.com)
Source: North Adams Transcript (MA)
Copyright: 2005 New England Newspapers, Inc
Contact: news@thetranscript.com
Website: https://www.thetranscript.comv
Author: Rich Azzopardi, Berkshire Eagle
A mistrial was declared in July after a Berkshire Superior Court jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case. If convicted of the school zone offenses, Sawin faces a mandatory minimum 2-year jail sentence. In his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Richard M. Locke said Sawin sold marijuana to undercover Berkshire County Drug Task Force member Felix Aguirre, three times during the four-month investigation that eventually netted 18 arrests.
Authorities said Sawin's sales, which allegedly occurred on June 30, 2004, July 6, 2004, and Sept. 3, 2004, took place in the vicinity of the lot, which is within 1,000 feet of both the Great Barrington Cooperative Preschool and the Searles/Bryant middle school. Sawin's attorney, Judith Knight contends that her client, who admitted to being a marijuana user, was the victim of entrapment targeted by a "wolf in sheep's clothing." "Kyle would no sooner pull into the parking lot than Felix Aguirre would be in his face ( asking Sawin to sell him drugs )," Knight said to the eight-woman, six-man jury. "And finally Felix Aguirre broke him down."
Locke said the evidence presented in his case would prove that no arm-twisting took place. "There was no yelling, or screaming, or threats to this young man," the prosecutor said. "He sold marijuana to the police officer freely, willingly and voluntarily." Authorities began their sting amid complaints from local residents of drug activity taking place in the lot, which had long been a hangout for teens and young adults, Locke said.
Seven of the defendants nabbed in the undercover operation including Sawin had no previous record and were accused of selling small quantities of marijuana. In the wake of the Taconic probe, a grassroots group, Concerned Citizens for Appropriate Justice, formed and sought to persuade District Attorney David F. Capeless to drop the school-zone charges against the marijuana defendants. Capeless refused, stating that it had been his office's policy to uniformly pursue school-zone violations in any case where they apply.
Two of the other defendants facing marijuana charges, John Rybacki and Justin Cronin, testified against Sawin during his first trial in July. Both men are slated to testify against Sawin in this second trial, as is a third man facing marijuana charges from the sting, Christopher Gennari, attorneys said Tuesday. This second trial is scheduled to resume in Judge John A. Agostini's court today with the testimony of Great Barrington Police Officer Paul Storti, who began his direct examination today.
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl (420Times.com)
Source: North Adams Transcript (MA)
Copyright: 2005 New England Newspapers, Inc
Contact: news@thetranscript.com
Website: https://www.thetranscript.comv
Author: Rich Azzopardi, Berkshire Eagle
