High bail for Peabody woman held on drug charges

SALEM – Bail for a Peabody woman able to talk herself out of a stiff jail sentence last summer on credit fraud and passing fake checks was set at $25,000 following her arraignment on narcotic charges.Joanna Snyder, 47, of 14 Aberdeen Ave., Peabody, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Salem Superior Court to two counts of distribution of heroin, two counts of distribution of heroin within 1,000 feet of a school zone as well as possession with the intent to distribute heroin within 1,000 feet of a school zone and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.Judge John T. Lu agreed to set the high bail at the joint request of the prosecutor and defense, but left the door open for a bail review at another court date.In the meantime, Snyder, who is currently serving a sentence on a probation violation, remains at Framingham Prison for Women. Her next scheduled court date is Sept. 7.The charges stem from her arrest on April 28 following a month-long investigation by Peabody police in which a series of drug sales were negotiated.Between April 21 and April 25, Snyder allegedly made two sales of heroin for $120 each to an undercover officer, one of them in a 7-Eleven convenience store parking lot on Lynn Street and another at her home.On April 28 police raided her home and seized 8 grams of heroin along with a scale and approximately $800 in cash.The sales occurred within yards of the Brown Elementary School, according to reports.At the time, Snyder was on probation after she pleaded guilty last summer to larceny and credit fraud charges, convincing Judge Timothy Q. Feeley to have compassion because of her bipolar disorder. He had sentenced her to 89 days on one charge and 22 days on a receiving stolen property charge, both deemed served, and placed her on five years of probation with conditions.However, last month, Feeley was not so lenient and compassionate to her plea. Instead he revoked her probation and sentenced her three to four years in state prison, which she is now serving.