Malden man gets 5 years for local drug activity

SALEM – A Malden restaurant worker who had no prior record before he was busted for drug distribution in Peabody and Beverly to feed his addiction will serve five years in state prison for his crimes.David Miles Ledbury, 37, of 378 Lebanon St., Malden, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of trafficking over 14 grams of OxyContin and possession with the intent to distribute Opana before Judge David A. Lowy.The judge on Thursday agreed to follow the proposed recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Jessica M. Strasnick and defense lawyer Anthony J. Rossi.The charges arise out of two incidents, one in Beverly and the other in Peabody.In August 2010, Beverly police received information concerning an individual who was selling large quantities of OxyContin on the street named “Franky” and drove a silver Honda CRV.Authorities set up a deal to purchase OxyContin. On Aug. 6, 2010 shortly before 1 p.m., surveillance was established near the Beverly Depot railroad station, when they spotted the SUV parked on the corner of Park and Broadway streets.Police approached the male driver, later identified as Ledbury, and seized one hundred 80mg OxyContin pills, stated Strasnick as she gave a summary of her case.Another 50 pills of OxyContin were found inside the vehicle, she said.Also seized was $385 in cash and a Blackberry.The OxyContin pills had a street value of approximately $12,000.In addition, on May 3, Peabody Police Det. David Murphy, along with other officers, were conducting undercover surveillance inside the North Shore Mall parking lot in Peabody when they observed what they thought to be a “street-level” drug deal.Police recovered 31 Opana tablets in the back seat area of the vehicle where Ledbury was a passenger, along with $1,141.Opana is prescription morphine-like opium and is twice as potent as OxyContin.Lowy pointed out that Ledbury had no prior criminal record as he imposed the punishment.