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. [continues 559 words]
NEWBURYPORT -- Though a two-month undercover investigation failed to find any evidence of drug use or drug dealing at the high school, officials are still concerned that students are smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol during school hours. The investigation found students often leave school grounds during the day, leading to worries that some are leaving to use drugs. "There were some observations of students leaving school grounds, possibly for those reasons," said Superintendent of Schools Mary Murray. "That's something we will be looking at." [continues 477 words]
