Gloucester, Beverly men indicted for attempted murder in Peabody shooting

SALEM – An Essex County Grand Jury this week indicted Anthony Polsonetti, Jr., 52, of 32 New Way Lane, Gloucester, and Christopher Sherry, 40, of 11 Winthrop Ave., Beverly, in connection with a shooting into a Peabody home with a high powered semi-automatic assault rifle in February of this year over an unpaid debt.Both men are charged with assault with intent to murder, conspiracy to commit assault with intent to murder and extortion. In addition, Polsonetti is charged with trafficking a Class A substance (opium), trafficking a Class B substance (oxycodone), two counts of usury related to loan sharking and intent to procure another to commit perjury.Sherry was arrested Thursday at his residence by Beverly and Peabody Police, and arraigned Friday morning in Salem Superior Court. Sherry pleaded innocent to his charges and was ordered held on $20,000 cash bail by Judge Timothy Feeley. Essex First Assistant District Attorney John T. Dawley had requested $250,000 cash bail.The judge also set pre-trial probationary conditions, including no drugs or alcohol, random screens and no contact or communication with the victim or witnesses in this case. Sherry will return to court on Sept. 27 for a pre-trial conference.Polsonetti is expected to turn himself in for arraignment Monday morning at Salem Superior Court.Essex First Assistant District Attorney John T. Dawley told the court that Sherry confronted Michael Aresco at his home at 611 Lowell St. on the evening of Feb. 15, 2011, having allegedly been commissioned by Polsonetti to collect an unpaid debt. Aresco convinced Sherry, who had never seen the victim and didn’t know what he looked like, that he wasn’t the man Sherry was looking for.