SAWIN CLEARED OF CHARGES

PITTSFIELD -- Kyle W. Sawin left Berkshire Superior Court a free man
yesterday after a jury cleared him of dealing marijuana to an
undercover officer during a controversial drug probe in Great
Barrington last year. A panel of seven women and five men acquitted
the 18-year-old Otis man of three counts each of distribution of
marijuana and of committing a drug violation in a drug-free school
zone after about nine hours of deliberation. Sawin stood ramrod
straight as his mother, Laurie Sawin, sobbed and shed tears of joy as
each of the six "not guilty" verdicts was read at the conclusion of
his second trial on those offenses.

The defendant had faced a mandatory minimum two-year jail sentence if
convicted of one of the school-zone charges.

"Praise Jesus," the defendant's father, Darryl Sawin, said outside
the courthouse moments after his son was acquitted. "We have our son
back, and we have our lives back."

Sawin was among 17 people arrested on drug-dealing charges as a
result of the undercover operation at the former Taconic Lumber
parking lot in the summer of 2004. The lot, which is within 1,000
feet of both the Great Barrington Cooperative Preschool and
Searles/Bryant Middle School, was a popular destination for
teens and young adults and, according to authorities, was also rife
with drug activity. Prosecutors alleged that Sawin, who was 17 at the
time, sold marijuana to undercover Berkshire County Task Force member
Felix Aguirre three times during the course of the operation.

The first of the defendants snared in the sting to go before a jury,
Sawin initially went to trial in July. A mistrial was declared in
that case when the jury deadlocked.

In both cases, Sawin's attorney, Judith C. Knight, contended that her
client, an admitted marijuana user, was the victim of police
entrapment and was pressured by Aguirre into selling him marijuana
from his personal supply on July 6 and Sept. 3, 2004.

Sawin also was charged with a sale to Aguirre on June 30, 2004. The
defendant, who took the stand in his own defense, maintained that the
purported transaction never occurred.

The defendant was absent from a series of police surveillance photos
taken at the Taconic lot on that date, although the small amount of
marijuana that prosecutors alleged Sawin sold to the undercover
officer was among the evidence presented at trial.

A majority of those arrested were accused of selling cocaine, ecstasy
and other "hard" drugs in the lot. However, seven of the defendants
a€" Sawin included a€" were charged with selling only small amounts
of marijuana as first-time offenders. After the arrests, a South
County-based community group, Concerned Citizens for Appropriate
Justice, formed and attempted to persuade District Attorney David F.
Capeless to drop the mandatory minimum charges against the seven.
Capeless refused, stating that it was his office's long-standing
policy to uniformly pursue school zone offenses in any cases where
they apply. Knight said she hoped prosecutors would re-examine their
position in the aftermath of Sawin's acquittal.

"I hope that the district attorney's office thinks twice about
pursuing the other cases in the same manner they pursued this one,"
she said. "At least give close consideration to each of the
individual cases." Capeless said he was disappointed with the jury's
verdict and indicated that he does not intend to alter the policy.

"I felt that the defense was a weak one. These are very professional,
well-trained, experienced narcotics investigators who would never
stoop to engage in entrapment. I feel that today, and I feel that
going forward with any of the cases that we have," the district
attorney said. "I'm hard-pressed to think about how they can find
him not guilty."

Jury not convinced Juror Jonathan Nix said that the panel was split
when deliberations began, but that as it grappled with the issues
surrounding the case, its members concluded that not enough evidence
existed to convince them with certainty that the earliest transaction occurred.

"On the other two (sales), we felt that there was enough coercion to
warrant an entrapment finding," Nix, of Becket, said.

Sawin said Aguirre, who went by the name "Jose" during the duration
of the probe, approached him an estimated 15 times to buy marijuana
during June and July 2004.

He said he refused each time, until July 6, when the undercover
officer told him he had just gotten into a fight with his girlfriend,
asking one more time if he had any marijuana for sale.

Sawin, who a few weeks earlier had had a public argument with his
significant other in the lot, said he identified with "Jose's"
relationship woes and decided to sell him half of his own stash.

On the stand, Sawin said the September 2004 sale occurred during a
time when he was between jobs and after the undercover officer
offered him $65 for an amount of marijuana that he had just purchased
for $50. Aguirre also took the stand during the trial and testified
that Sawin was a willing participant in all the sales and even used a
hand-held scale during the July 6 transaction. Sawin denied owning a
scale. The prosecution, which was represented by Assistant District
Attorney Richard M. Locke and First Assistant District Attorney Paul
J. Caccaviello, also attempted to discredit Sawin's entrapment
defense with the testimony of three other defendants charged with
marijuana and school-zone offenses in the Taconic probe. John
Rybacki, Justin Cronin and Christopher Gennari each testified that
Sawin had sold them marijuana in the past. An entrapment defense
cannot be used by someone who is already predisposed to committing a
crime, which in this case would be selling drugs.

Nix said the testimony of the three men was tainted in the eyes of
jurors because of their admissions that a€" although no promises had
been made a€" they took the stand in hopes of having their own
minimum mandatory charges dropped. "They were pretty much dismissed,"
the juror said.

Nix also criticized authorities for putting what he said was a
disproportionate amount of time and money into pursuing the case
against the defendant. "I am upset that the government put so many
resources into such a trivial case with such meager returns," Nix
said. "I think it's an outrage." Standing next to his attorney and
his parents, a weary-looking Sawin said he was looking forward to
putting the past year behind him. "I'm just happy it's over," he said.