Prosecutors: Woman Used Boy To Deal Drugs In Lowell
LOWELL (CBS) - More than a dozen relatives came to court Monday to support drug-trafficking suspect Gina Gonzalez, along with her live-in boyfriend Freddie Morales-Lugo.
The couple shares a rented house on Barclay Street which was under surveillance by narcotics detectives.
Morales-Lugo was pulled over not far from there and police found a half kilo of cocaine hidden in the dashboard of the car, which is registered to Gonzalez. Meantime, officers watching the house spotted something else.
WBZ-TV's Ken MacLeod reports
Police saw a boy heading down the street with a trash bag.
A police dog then sniffed the bag, which had cocaine residue in it, along with a digital scale and $3,000 in cash.
Prosecutors argue Gonzalez was using the boy to do some drug dealing chores or house cleaning.
Despite protests from her attorney, Gonzalez has been charged with cocaine trafficking and distributing to a minor.
Police say Morales-Lugo was packing a pistol when busted and Gonzalez was frantically hiding money in the toilet tank when officers burst in.
The drug trafficking charge carries a mandatory 15 year sentence.
The 10-year-old boy is staying with other relatives.
