Pubdate: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 Source: Daily News, The (Newburyport, MA) Copyright: 2006 Essex County Newspapers, Inc Contact: http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/ntother.pl?submitletter Website: http://www.newburyportnews.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/693 Author: Jessica Benson Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) MOM AND SON'S ARREST A SIGN OF GROWING HEROIN PROBLEM NEWBURYPORT -- Monday's arrest of an Amesbury mother and son on armed robbery charges is another sign that heroin is driving an increase in crime throughout the county, said the district attorney. Yesterday morning, a day after allegedly teaming up to rob the Irving gas station and convenience store in Amesbury, Miles Neofotistos, 20, and his mother, Mary A. Neofotistos, 49, were led into Newburyport District Court in handcuffs, arraigned and ordered held on $10,000 cash bail. The 59 Pleasant Valley Road residents are accused of threatening a store clerk with a used needle and syringe in order to get money to buy heroin. The robbery may be an instance of what Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett described as "a precipitous rise in crime by what we call opiate-addicted individuals," those hooked on either heroin or OxyContin. Blodgett said yesterday he does not have hard figures, but that the use of opiates skyrocketed in Essex County during 2005 due to an increased availability of the drugs. He said crimes by drug addicts, such as purse snatchings in malls, home break-ins and armed robberies, have risen correspondingly. He said addiction "respects no boundaries," that people of various ages and income levels are becoming hooked, in both urban centers and small towns. Mary A. Neofotistos, who has no prior criminal record, told police she picked up her heroin addiction from her son about eight months ago. Prior to her arrest, she was working as a caretaker for two handicapped adults. Blodgett said perpetrators of drug-related crimes often quickly confess to police and admit they are addicts. He said the district attorney's office favors treatment for those not accused of violent crimes. "I just think we need more treatment on demand," he said. Amesbury saw a spike in heroin and related crime about two years ago, said police Lt. Gary Ingham. "I wouldn't say there's an epidemic problem in Amesbury, but I wouldn't say there is not a heroin problem, either," Ingham said. He said the drug most often arrives via Lawrence. Most of the town's property crimes can be linked to addiction, Ingham said. He also said adequate police presence and aggressive work by the department -- including traffic enforcement -- have proven successful deterrents for larcenies, house breaks and armed robberies, though the town is not immune. "The bad guys, if you will, don't come to Amesbury unless they have to, because they know they're going to be caught," Ingham said. According to police records on file at Newburyport District Court, the mother and son confessed to the robbery when interviewed a few hours later. They said they had seen a television news story about someone robbing a story in Salem using a needle and decided to copy that method. Both are charged with armed robbery; the son is also charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. Not guilty pleas were entered on the pair's behalf . At about noon Monday, feeling "dope sick" and "desperate," they carried out their plan, the Neofotistoses told police. The mother waited outside in a car while the son entered the store with a syringe and threatened the clerk, who handed over approximately $150. Miles Neofotistos "came back to the car and stated he can't believe he did that," according to a detective's report based on the confessions. The pair said they then went to Lawrence and bought two bags of heroin and one of cocaine, took the drugs and returned home. Police were waiting for them, having identified them through their car registration and witness reports. The robbery was caught on a gas station surveillance camera. Geoffrey DuBosque, the court-appointed lawyer for the mother's arraignment, argued that she should be free while awaiting trial in order to undergo treatment for her drug addiction outside the confines of MCI-Framingham, the state's correctional facility for women. He also said she may have been intoxicated while speaking with police. "She tells me when (her son) went into the store, she had no idea he was going to do anything," DuBosque said. But Judge Peter Doyle said he would not send the suspects to a "non-secure" setting. He ordered both mother and son held on $10,000 cash bail, half the amount the prosecution sought. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek