MISTRIAL DECLARED IN SCHOOL-ZONE DRUG CASE

PITTSFIELD -- A mistrial was declared this afternoon in the case of
Kyle W. Sawin, an Otis teenager who faced a mandatory jail term for
allegedly selling small amounts of marijuana in a Great Barrington
school zone.

The district attorney's office said it planned to retry the
case.

The mistrial was declared after the jury, which began deliberating
Wednesday, twice told the judge it was deadlocked. Earlier in the day,
the judge had instructed the jury to continue deliberating after it
told the court it was unlikely to reach a verdict.

Sawin, 18, was one of seven young people arrested in last year's drug
sweep in Great Barrington who had no prior record but faced a
mandatory two-year jail sentence under the state's school-zone drug
law.