SALEM – An Essex County grand jury handed up indictments Friday afternoon against four men charged in separate cases for narcotics, attempted murder and firearm charges.Wendell A. Morris, 21, of 56 Hillside Ave., Lynn, stands charged with two counts of armed assault with intent to murder; two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon as well as carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and possession of ammunition.The charges arise out of a drive-by shooting incident in Lynn in the early morning hours of July 4 when he allegedly fired six shots at two individuals from a black Lexus SUV on Timson Street.Police said they recovered a 9mm loaded revolver from a backpack in the Lexus the following day.Assistant District Attorney Christina P. Ronan is assigned to prosecute the case for the commonwealth.Anthony Collins, 28, of 10 Pleasant St., Lynn, is charged with trafficking over 28 grams of heroin and trafficking over 14 grams of cocaine. He was arrested in Lynn on Jan.21 when police said they searched his apartment after finding narcotics inside a taxi cab he had earlier been inside as a customer.Adriano Almonte, 31, of 5 Newcastle St., Lynn, and Rafael Gomez, 32, of 130 Summer St., East Boston, charged with trafficking over 100 grams of OxyContin.They were arrested in Lynn on July 15 when police stopped them on Boston Street and seized over 700 OxyContin pills concealed inside a secret compartment on the instrument panel of a green Toyota Camry, which Almonte was driving, police said.If convicted, they each face a mandatory 10-years in state prison, with no chance of early release.Assistant District Attorney James P. Gubitose is prosecuting the case for the state.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.
