With her adult children watching from the gallery, Donna M. McLeod, of Springfield, pleaded innocent to cocaine trafficking between 18 and 36 grams during her arraignment in Springfield District Court.
She also denied a charge of possessing ammunition without a firearms identification card.
McLeod, was arrested Monday morning when Springfield police raided her apartment and seized 46 grams, or about 1.6 ounces, of crack cocaine packaged for sale, Assistant District Attorney Jill O’Connor said.
They also found $407 in cash, several cell phones and two bullets inside a knapsack, O’Connor said.
The defendant was seen making deliveries across Springfield in a green Ford pickup truck, the prosecutor.
To set up deliveries, customers “would contact her by cell phone,” O’Connor said.
The cell phones continued ringing as detectives searched the apartment, according to the prosecutor, who said extensive surveillance and several controlled buys were conducted before the raid.
O’Connor asked for $25,000 bail, citing several drug convictions on McLeod’s record, including a 2005 trafficking charge that resulted in a three-year prison sentence.
Defense lawyer Erin Boylan asked for $2,000 bail, explaining that the defendant poses no flight risk and has shown up for court hearings in the past.
A mother of four children, McLeod is also a caretaker for her sister, who was disabled by a stroke and suffers from cancer, among other maladies, Boylan said.
The defendant’s last crack cocaine conviction was ten years ago, Boylan said.
As for the two bullets found in the backpack, they were keepsakes from a military funeral, the lawyer said.
Judge William Rota set bail at $10,000.
Original article posted on MassLive
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