Officers working a gang detail in the Mason Square section of the city spotted an alleged drug deal in progress, and then moved in to make two arrests.
Victor Alvarado, 21, of Holyoke, was arrested Thursday in Springfield after city police officers broke up a reputed drug deal in progress, according to Springfield Police Sgt. John M. Delaney.SPRINGFIELD -- Officers working a gang detail in the Mason Square section of Springfield arrested a Holyoke man Thursday after breaking up a suspected drug deal, according to Sgt. John M. Delaney.
Delaney, an aide to Springfield Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said Sgt. Brian Keenan and Officer Donald Brown spotted "suspicious activity" in a parking lot at the corner of State and Walnut streets around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
When Keenan and Brown stopped and questioned two men, "who appeared to be in the middle of a drug deal," they arrested both men and seized around a pound of marijuana, according to Delaney.
The officers also seized around $1,120 cash, three cell phones, packaging material and drug paraphernalia, Delaney said, adding that the pot was packaged for street sales.
Police charged 21-year-old Victor Alvarado of 532 Pleasant St., Holyoke, and a 16-year-old male, whom they declined to identify, with marijuana possession with intent to distribute and school-zone drug violations.
Alvarado was expected to be arraigned Thursday in Springfield District Court, while the teenager was expected to be arraigned in Juvenile Court. Bail information was not immediately available.
THE MAP BELOW shows the approximate area where Springfield police arrested a city resident on drug charges Thursday:
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