Lynn man held on $5G bail for repeat drug offenses

SALEM – A Lynn man police say they caught in a serious of drug deals for a second time remains held at the Middleton Jail on $5,000 cash bail.Michael Rodriguez, 22, of 1 Kingsley Terrace, Lynn, appeared for his arraignment Friday morning in Salem Superior Court pleading not guilty to three counts of distribution of cocaine, subsequent offenses.As jointly recommended by the prosecutor and defense, Judge John T. Lu agreed to set the bail amount proposed and continued the case to March 4 for a pretrial conference.The charges stem from three drug sales between March 30 and June 30 when Rodriguez allegedly sold cocaine to an individual in Lynn, which was documented by police.Rodriguez was arrested during a recent sting operation in Lynn involving FBI agents, state and local police.Because he has a prior drug conviction out of Lynn in 2006, he faces a five years in state prison on each of the three charges.In essence he is looking at a mandatory 15-year prison term.