Repeat Drug Dealer Arrested on Cocaine, Gun Charges

A man with five prior drug convictions was arraigned last week on new charges and held on bail following his arrest amid a Boston Police drug investigation, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley announced.

Arnold Woodrum, 46, of Boston, was arraigned Friday in Dorchester Municipal Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance as a subsequent offense, and being a Level 3 armed career criminal.

According to prosecutors, Woodrum was convicted of possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance in 1990, 1998, 2007, and 2010; cocaine distribution in 2004; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in 1981 and 2004; and rape and abuse of a child in 1998.

Assistant District Attorney Julien Mundele requested that Woodrum’s bail be set at $75,000, but Judge Jonathan Tynes imposed $25,000 bail.

As part of an investigation into suspected drug activity at Woodrum’s 15 Abbot Street apartment, Boston Police and Suffolk County Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant of the residence on Thursday, Conley said.

Officers located Woodrum in a bedroom inside the apartment. Upon seeing police, Woodrum allegedly placed his left hand in his pocket and refused repeated orders to remove it. Once officers were able to remove Woodrum’s hand, they discovered three rocks of crack cocaine and $1,956 in cash. A search of the bedroom where police encountered Woodrum revealed a second plastic bag of crack cocaine and a 9mm handgun with seven live rounds in the magazine, prosecutors said.

“This is what we’re talking about when we refer to the nexus of drugs and guns,” Conley said. “Violent drug dealers don’t call the police when they’re robbed. They take retaliation at the point of a gun. Fortunately, with every firearm taken from defendants like this one, we can be certain we’ve prevented acts of future violence.”

Also recovered from the apartment were a digital scale, baking soda, a loose razor blade, and plastic bags, which are all used in the creation and packaging of crack cocaine, investigators said.

Woodrum is due back in court on Dec. 11.