Son of murdered Lynn man indicted on drug charges

SALEM – A Lynn felon who was arrested during a drug sting operation earlier this month was one of three people indicted Wednesday afternoon by an Essex County grand jury.Abraham J. Halprin, 29, of 23 Atlantic St., #2, Lynn, is charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of heroin with the intent to distribute, subsequent offense, and possession of heroin with the intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school zone stemming from his arrest in Lynn on Jan. 11.Halprin was arrested at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Lewis Street after allegedly selling two $80 bags of heroin to an undercover state trooper.When officers attempted to take him into custody, Halprin jumped into his SUV, jammed his car into reverse and smashed the cruiser.A shot was apparently fired at the SUV, but no one was hit. He was quickly apprehended and taken into custody.Because Halprin twice was convicted of crimes and sentenced to state prison, he also was indicted as a habitual offender, which allows for the state to ask for a more severe punishment, if convicted.Assistant District Attorney Michael P. Hickey is prosecuting the case.Halprin’s father, Bennett Halprin, 66, was shot multiple times through his apartment door on Christmas Eve.No arrests have been made in the murder, but it is believed the intended target of the shooting was his son.Halprin was convicted in 2004 of carrying a firearm and possession by a serious offender and sentenced 6-to-7-years in state prison. At that time, he was also found in violation of probationary conditions stemming from a 1998 drug case and received another three years, but that was to run together with the 2004 conviction.The indictments now move the case from Lynn District Court, where Halprin has pleaded innocent, to Salem Superior Court where he will be re-arraigned within a few weeks.In the meantime, he remains held at the Middleton Jail on $150,000 cash bail.Also indicted were:Angel Gonzalez, 44, of 17 Sprague Ave., Brockton, charged with trafficking over 28 grams of opium stemming from his arrest in Lynn on Sept. 29 when police say they caught him with 362 OxyCondone pills in his car following a motor vehicle stop for speeding on Franklin Street.Thomas Nee, 38, of 22 Summer St., Dedham, faces charges of attempted breaking and entering in the night time and malicious destruction of property concerning his arrest in Lynn on Oct. 22 when he allegedly tried to burglarize a home on Essex Street.Indictments are not an indication of guilt; rather it is a legal process that allows a case to be transferred from District Court to Superior Court, allowing for a more severe punishment.