Police: Man assaulted Lynn officer following drug deal

LYNN – A judge ordered an Everett man held on prior charges and set $1,500 cash bail on a new case after police said the man rushed an officer and then crashed into and broke the glass door of a Richdale after an alleged drug deal.”At one point (the defendant) lowered his shoulder and ran full speed up the aisle,” Lynn Police Officer Edward Tansey wrote in a report. “He crashed into Officer (Michael) Tortorise and then bounced into the front glass door. The glass door cracked in several places.”Bryan Sanchez, 26, of Ferry Street, Everett, was arrested and charged with distribution of Class B drugs; malicious destruction of property +$250; disturbing the peace; resisting arrest; assault and battery on a police officer, three counts; and warrants; at 3:15 p.m. Sunday.Sanchez was arraigned on the charges Monday in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.Undercover police at Woodman and Spencer streets Sunday saw a car with New Hampshire plates pick up a man, take “a meaningless ride” around the block and then let the man out of the car, according to police.Police said they stopped the vehicle believing a drug deal had taken place. The passenger allegedly told officers he had purchased two Percocet pills. Another officer simultaneously approached the man from the car in Richdale on Walnut Street, according to police.Police said the man from the car identified himself as Kevin Tejada and denied that he had dealt drugs. But the other police unit radioed the information from the car stop and the officer at Richdale requested backup, according to police.Police said the suspect became increasingly nervous and tried to move to the door, but was “physically detained.” As other officers arrived to arrest the suspect, he allegedly refused to put his hands behind his back and had to be sprayed with pepper spray as he struggled with police.The suspect escaped officers and went to the back of the store, breaking wine bottles in his wake as an officer pursued him, according to police.The suspect then allegedly rushed an officer and escaped out the store door and ran down Childs Street. Police said a neighbor led them to find the suspect hiding in a dumpster at the Fallon School. The suspect told police at the station that his name was really Bryan Sanchez.Essex Assistant District Attorney Emily Mello requested Sanchez be held on $1,500 cash for the new charges and that his bail in a previous case be revoked. She noted Sanchez had four outstanding warrants with charges including trafficking cocaine and possession with intent to distribute Class D drugs. She said Sanchez had also previously received guilty verdicts for drug charges in Lynn District Court.Court-appointed defense attorney Amy Sixt, however, questioned the arrest. She said police had no reason to arrest Sanchez when they noted they “physically detained” her client.”He had every right at this point to leave, and he did so, he was trying to leave the store,” Sixt said.Judge James LaMothe ordered Sanchez be held on previous charges and set $1,500 cash for the new charges.