Man Acquitted 12 Years Ago of Officer’s Murder Pleads Guilty to Cocaine Charge

James Joseph Boyle III, whose acquittal 12 years ago of the murder of an undercover narcotics officer sparked a storm of controversy, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday to possession of one kilo of cocaine for sale.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Darrell MacIntyre said Boyle, 37, was arrested Oct. 5 as he drove from his Marina del Rey home in a Rolls-Royce after federal authorities, using a search warrant, found the cocaine--valued at $850,000 on the street--and $20,900 in cash in his condominium. Three handguns were also seized in the home, the prosecutor said.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents obtained the warrant after Boyle’s fingerprints were found on four pounds of cocaine seized in a raid at a house in Venice the month before, MacIntyre said.

Boyle and three others were prosecuted on murder and conspiracy charges in the 1973 shooting death of Los Angeles police undercover narcotics Detective Gerald (Blackie) Sawyer.

Sawyer, a popular man who coached a youth football team in La Mirada, was fatally wounded while attempting to buy $144,000 worth of cocaine at a motel in Santa Monica.

The prosecution had argued that the four defendants never intended to sell Sawyer any cocaine but planned instead to kill him and take the money.

A police informant, who set up the drug deal at the motel, testified during the Los Angeles Superior Court trial that Sawyer was shot when he apparently was reaching for a gun.

After deliberating for eight days, the jury acquitted the four, saying it had little choice because of conflicting testimony and the lack of credibility exhibited by several prosecution witnesses.

The presiding judge, E. Talbot Callister, told jurors he was “shocked” by their verdict.

Joseph Busch, then Los Angeles district attorney, called the verdict the “most outrageous” he had ever seen in his years as a prosecutor.

“We thought they might have been hung up on the conspiracy charge, but how could they have let off the guy (Michael W. Ender) who shot Sawyer?” Busch asked at the time.

After that case, Boyle was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his guilty plea to drug charges indirectly related to Sawyer’s death. MacIntyre said Boyle was on parole from that sentence when he was arrested in October.

Boyle faces a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Jan. 23 by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois Jr. He remains in custody without bail.