A former Haverhill High School football star faces armed robbery charges today after, what police said was, “a drug deal gone bad.”
Ian Kessel, 19, of 12 Lexington Ave., and an unidentified 17-year-old, were arrested at 9:21 p.m., Tuesday, at 1 Forest Acres Drive. Kessel was a running back for the Hillies and an All-MVC performer in 2014.
“The victim in this case made an arrangement to buy marijuana and was told to meet at Forest Acres Drive. “When he went there, he was directed to get into a motor vehicle where a gun was put to his head,” said Captain Robert P. Pistone, police spokesman. “He was robbed of a good sum of money,” Pistone added. He said police believe other individuals are involved and are continuing an investigation.
Kessel was held overnight without bail at Essex County Correctional Facility, Middleton, while the juvenile was held at a Lowell juvenile detention facility. Both are scheduled to appear for arraignment in Haverhill District Court today.
Kessel transferred to Haverhill High School from St. John’s Prep in his sophomore year. Following high school, Kessel enrolled at the athletic and educational college preparatory school, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
In other police news, a Bradford resident, arrested Tuesday night on a warrant charging him with refusal to submit a DNA database sample, is due to appear in court. Michael Deluca, 42, of 12 Coates Lane, was taken into custody at 8:23 p.m., Tuesday, at home.
He has been kicked out of all the schools and the Florida sports program. Waiting for parents who have had their children bullied, beaten up or robbed by him and his gang friends to share their experiences. I welcome them all to contact the HPD to see if he was involved in other crimes they can connect.
There is always an additional story behind the story! Why am I not surprised. This young man sounds incorrigible to me. If the parents of his victims are waiting for the ideal time to come forward —- this is it!
Maybe another story there…. He’s no stranger to being in trouble…..
“Kessel transferred to Haverhill High School from St. John’s Prep in his sophomore year.” –
The only conclusion here would be flunking out because no one in their right mind would go from St. Johns to Haverhill.
Have you seen what it cost to attend SJP?
$21K/yr is on the cheap end and it’s most likely he was only there to play football anyways. A lot of these schools will give aid (through massive endowments) in order to recruit exceptional students and/or athletes. In this case, it appears to be the latter, as academics are usually a bit more rigorous at that level than public schools. Unlike politicians, I’ll admit I could have it completely wrong, but this is what it appears to be short of any new information.
Sad to see Mr. Kessel has a past for violence already…..
Two more idiots involved with GUNS, ROBBERY AND DRUGS! So where did these two obtain the gun? Interesting that, again, no one talks about whether the firearm was LEGAL OR ILLEGAL. ………LOCK ‘EM UP so they don’t contaminate the law abiding citizens of Haverhill!