Pawn Shop Owner Again Arrested on Drug Charges
Arlington police have arrested Louis L. Gersh, 52, at his Medford home following a warrant issued by the Cambridge District Court on charges of possessing with intent to distribute heroin and receiving stolen property valued at more than $250, both felonies.
In a news release, Arlington police said they sought the new charges following Gersh’s recent release on alleged heroin distribution charges stemming from a multijurisdictional investigation involving Arlington, Somerville and Medford that culminated with Gersh’s arrest July 14. That arrest resulted in issuing and executing a search warrant for Gersh’s place of business, a pawn shop at 87 Warren St., Arlington, where additional drugs and a truckload of alleged stolen property were recovered.
Some of that property has already been linked to Arlington area burglaries, police said.
“Mr. Gersh’s alleged criminal conduct has adversely impacted the safety and quality of life of an entire East Arlington neighborhood,” Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan said, “and we will continue to commit the necessary assets and resources to restore order in this neighborhood. It is unfortunate that he was released on the original heroin distribution charges but we worked tirelessly to build credible evidence on these new drug distribution charges.”
Ryan said Arlington detectives continue to actively investigate this case. “We are poring through the ‘truckload’ of merchandise seized from Gersh’s place of business,” he said.
Gersh is being held without bail until Sept. 12 for a pretrial conference.
In 2010, Louis L. Gersh Auctions operated at 240 Boston Ave., Medford.