The Region - News from July 9, 1986

A convicted Marina del Rey cocaine dealer was sentenced to eight years in federal prison after an unusual trial that focused on his claims that he was really just an addict who snorted large amounts of cocaine. U.S. District Judge Richard A. Gadbois Jr. imposed the sentence on James J. Boyle III two weeks after rejecting Boyle’s arguments that more than two pounds of cocaine found in his apartment was for his personal use, not for sale. While Boyle, 37, admitted snorting and smoking up to seven grams of cocaine daily, he claimed during his Los Angeles federal court trial that he was merely holding almost a kilo of cocaine for a neighbor when he was arrested last Oct. 5. Boyle was one of four defendants acquitted in a celebrated Superior Court trial in 1974 involving the fatal shooting of an undercover Los Angeles Police Department narcotics officer, Gerald (Blackie) Sawyer.