Prison releasee busted on birthday for selling crack
Published on July 2nd, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - It was probably one of the most up-and-down weeks he's had in his life. A Woburn man, reportedly released from prison on Monday, allegedly sold crack-cocaine to an undercover detective the next day and found himself in cuffs on his birthday on drug distribution charges.
Anthony Gamble, 44, of Main Street in Woburn, was arrested at approximately 5:19 p.m. last Friday along Phillips Road after he was targeted by members of the Stoneham Police Dept.'s narcotics unit and investigators from the Southern Middlesex Regional Drug Task Force (SMRDTF).
Gamble, placed in handcuffs on his birthday, faces charges for distribution of a Class B substance (crack-cocaine) and possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.
The Woburn man has also been issued a court summons by authorities in that community, who have charged him with distribution of a Class B substance (crack-cocaine) and violation of a drug free school zone.
According to Stoneham Det. Paul Norton, the head of the town's narcotics unit and a member of the SMRDTF, the 44-year-old sold two bags of crack-cocaine to an undercover investigator last Tuesday.
The purported drug transaction occurred after the undercover officer picked-up Gamble at his Main Street home, located across the street from Woburn's Altavesta Elementary School and close to Ferullo Field.
After the exchange, the detective dropped the man off at a North Woburn strip mall.
"An undercover detective from the task force was introduced to him on Tuesday and he was able to purchase crack-cocaine that day," said Norton.
Three days later, allegedly after the Main Street man made repeated attempts to sell more crack-cocaine to the undercover detective, SMRDTF members arranged to meet with the accused drug dealer along Phillips Road.
The suspect, who was found to be in possession of the illegal substance, was immediately taken into custody at the scene.
According to Norton, because the 44-year-old had just been released from prison, and had been urgently attempting to unload the cocaine, SMRDTF investigators surmised that the suspect was likely a low-level dealer - meaning no further undercover operations were necessary.
"We are so busy with other stuff and this just happened upon us," said Norton, explaining the suspect's introduction to the undercover officer. "We figured if he was holding these drugs, he was walking around with it all day [trying to get rid of them]."
"We never made the deal when we met on Friday. We just took him out," the town's narcotics unit head added. "He got out of jail on Monday, sold drugs to a cop on Tuesday, and got arrested on Friday.".
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