Lynn man arrested following police chase in August indicted

SALEM – A Lynn man who led police on a wild chase after he allegedly kidnapped his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint, was one of four local men indicted Wednesday afternoon by an Essex County grand jury.Michael V. Chiappini, 39, of 285 Lynn Shore Drive, #103, faces charges that include kidnapping, unarmed burglary in the nighttime, larceny of a motor vehicle, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, operating a motor vehicle negligently, assault and battery on a public employee, wanton destruction of property, violation of a court order, assault with a dangerous weapon, threats to commit a crime, aggravated assault and battery, resisting arrest and being a habitual offender.The charges stem from a series of incidents in March and also in August when he was arrested following a high-speed police chase that ended in a fiery crash between an officer’s vehicle and Chiappini’s SUV at the intersection of Western Avenue and Centre Street in Lynn.The indictments handed up now move the case from Lynn District Court, where he pled not guilty, to Superior Court where he will be re-arraigned within a few weeks.In the meantime, he remains held in custody at the Middleton Jail.Assistant District Attorney Melissa Woodard is assigned to prosecute the case for the commonwealth.Also indicted were:Neftali Fuentes-Crespo, also known as Pedro Ortiz, 30, of 6 Oak St., #6A, Peabody, was charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute, second offense. The charge concerns his July 25 arrest on Eastern Avenue in Lynn when police say they caught him with cocaine during a suspected drug deal. Because Fuentes-Crespo has been previously convicted of drug distribution, he faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years in state prison.Angel A. Cotto, 20, of 11 James St., Lynn, and Ramon J. Avalo, 21, of 53 Rockwell St., Malden, were charged with a series of drug deals involving the sale of heroin to an undercover officer in Saugus between June 14 and July 11. Avalo has a prior drug conviction and faces a minimum mandatory of five years in prison on each of the four charges against him.