5 arrested in huge Peabody pot bust

PEABODY - A whopping 543 pounds of marijuana and nearly $200,000 in cash were seized Wednesday night during a drug bust that netted five arrests.

Massachusetts State Police broke up the large-scale narcotics delivery, in which Brian J. Toto, 42, of Revere; Philip Watson, 37, of Saugus, Michael Schrimpf, 36, of Saugus, RJ Norton, Jr., 41, and Melvin Vanmeter, 38, both of Indianapolis, Ind. were arrested and charged with trafficking Class D marijuana over 200 pounds and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

All of the men pleaded innocent Thursday at their arraignments in Peabody District Court. Judge Robert Brennan set bail at $250,000 for each defendant and continued their cases until June 18 for a status hearing.

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Revere couple arrested in undercover drug sting

REVERE - A Revere man was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly sold cocaine to undercover officers eight times in the past month, police said.

Francisco "George" Santiago Rosado, 24, of 216 Fenno St., was arrested and charged with eight counts of distribution of a class B drug (cocaine) and two counts of drug violations in a school zone.

Sandra Rodriguez, 37, of the same address, was inside a car with Santiago when he was arrested. She was arrested and charged with one count of distribution of cocaine.

Revere and State Police said they used an undercover officer to purchase the cocaine from Rosado eight times since Jan. 22. Two of those purchases were allegedly made at Santiago's apartment, which is in close proximity to the McKinley School.

Before the final purchase, police made photocopies of the cash used to purchase the drugs, police said.

The pair was arrested a few moments after the final drug deal during a traffic stop at Revere Beach Parkway at about 5:30 p.m. Police also carried out a search warrant of their apartment but it was not clear what was found.

Lynn Daily Item

After massive search, Level 3 sex offender arrested

SAUGUS - The Level 3 sex offender who caused a massive air and ground search Dec. 29 was found and arrested at his Holden Avenue home without incident Monday afternoon, police said.

Police tried to arrest Richard Breau, 30, of 19 Holden Ave., at his home last Monday around 3 p.m. for an alleged probation violation. Police said his live-in girlfriend answered the front door when they arrived but Breau ran out the back door into some woods, resulting in a massive search by Saugus and state police that included a helicopter and K-9 units.

The search was called off about 5 p.m. due to darkness.

According to police, Breau called his girlfriend two days later and told her he was somewhere in Revere. He said he borrowed a cell phone to call her.

The girlfriend told police Sunday that Breau said he had no money, clothing or means to contact her at the time, police said.

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Revere police chief eyes tougher pot laws

REVERE - Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon said Tuesday he plans to address City Council about how to enforce the new marijuana decriminalization law that went into effect statewide Friday.

As it stands now, if a person stopped by police is found to be in possession of less than one ounce of pot, the suspect would not legally have to give police his or her identification unless being charged with another crime.

"They could say they're Mickey Mouse," Reardon said.

The law also proposes a $100 civil fine for offenders. Reardon said there is no legal recourse to collect the money if the suspect decides not to pay.

"Quite frankly, it shouldn't have been on the ballot the way is was presented," Reardon said. "Now we have to clean up the mess."

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Revere woman goes wild outside Saugus nightclub

SAUGUS - A Revere woman allegedly went wild outside Tabu nightclub Saturday, punching and kicking other women and officers in the Route 1 parking lot and back at the police station, according to police.

Frances Zion, 28, of 20 Cummings Ave., was arrested shortly after midnight and charged with assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.

After she allegedly resisted arrest in the parking lot, police said the drama continued at the police station where officers used pepper spray on Zion multiple times.

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Man charged with shoplifting after returning to store

SALEM — A couple's five-finger shopping spree came to an end Tuesday when a man attempting to pick up his girlfriend at a local department store was arrested on charges of stealing a laptop computer from the same store earlier that day, police said.

Jason Knox, 31, of Epping was arrested at the Target at 205 S. Broadway around 6 p.m. Tuesday, while picking up his 26-year-old girlfriend. The girlfriend was trying to return electronics stolen from a Target store in Haverhill, Mass., police said.

Knox and his girlfriend have now been linked to several thefts at Target stores in Methuen, Haverhill, and Revere, Mass., and Salem , but have yet to be charged in those cases, police Capt. Shawn Patten said. He said the duo has taken approximately $3,000 in electronics that include iPods and DVDs.

(Eagle Tribune Online-Full Story)