Guilty Plea Entered in Cocaine Case

One of three men accused of trying to kill five law enforcement officers when a cocaine deal in Inglewood soured pleaded guilty Monday to related drug charges.

Gregory Briggs, 30, of Lakewood, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted cocaine distribution, thereby avoiding trial on conspiracy, assault and attempted murder charges, said Assistant U.S. Atty. John Gordon.

Leo Bishop, 19, and Dwight Weisner, 22, both of Los Angeles, face trial today on those charges as well as drug distribution counts stemming from their alleged dealings with undercover officers in the parking lot of an Inglewood grocery store on March 27.

Briggs will be sentenced Oct. 2 by U.S. District Judge James Ideman.

A nine-count indictment said the three men tried unsuccessfully to run down the five officers with a Chevrolet Blazer. The officers were two Drug Enforcement Administration agents, police officers from Gardena and Hawthorne and a sheriff’s deputy who were working on the Los Angeles Street Gang Drug Task Force.

The indictment said Briggs negotiated the sale of two pounds of cocaine to undercover officers and arranged for the transaction to take place in the food store’s parking lot.

The indictment said Briggs introduced one of the officers, who was posing as the buyer, to Bishop, and the officer agreed to buy half a pound of the cocaine for $4,400. The deal went awry when backup officers converged on the men, Gordon said.