San Diego

A gunman who shot an attorney in a plot masterminded by a Santee man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

Vernon Earl James, 35, of San Diego received the term Tuesday from U.S. District Court Judge Judith Keep, who could have given him a 20-year term.

James is the first of five co-defendants convicted in the Aug. 7, 1985, conspiracy to shoot Robert Barr III, 48, of Dover, Okla., who survived a shotgun blast. Barr is a former Oklahoma state legislator who served two terms in the 1960s.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick Coughlin noted James’ cooperation with the government, including his testimony in the trial last month of Robert George Boeckman, 58, of Kingfisher, Okla.

James testified that he was recruited into the plot by Boeckman’s son, Robert Brian Boeckman, 30, of Santee.

Barr had sued both Boeckmans for $1.7 million in damages stemming from debts they allegedly owed to Barr from their oil company, Tucson Oil & Gas, which went into bankruptcy.

Keep noted that James was candid when he testified in the senior Boeckman’s trial--the only trial that was held because James, Boeckman’s son, and two others pleaded guilty to various charges in the case.