A former Haverhill man with a well-known police and court record pleaded guilty Friday in Haverhill District Court to drug dealing and driving-related charges.
Twenty-four-year-old Ian J. Kessel, now of Lowell, was arrested Thursday night, around 7:30 p.m., on the Comeau Bridge. Police charged him with possession of drugs with intent to distribute, driving with a suspended license and failing to stop at a traffic light.
Appearing before Judge Jean Curran, Kessel was placed on probation until April 25, 2022 on the conditions he forfeit money suspected to be from drug sales, find employment and provide 50 hours of community service.
According to a report filed by Haverhill Police Detective Jordan Bergevine, several plain clothes officers in unmarked cars saw Kessel driving a white Nissan Altima just before 7 p.m., and fail to stop at a red light before turning from Washington Street onto the Comeau Bridge. Kessel was pulled over on the bridge. He told Bergevine, who was aware of the previous license suspension, that he didn’t know his license status. Kessel was arrested and police allowed him to call his girlfriend to retrieve the car purportedly rented in her name. After the woman arrived and retrieved certain belongings from the car, Bergevine reported, he could smell the scent of unburned marijuana. When she couldn’t produce proof of the rental, the car was set to be towed.
A tow company inventory of the car showed “a large amount of a green leafy substance in various plastic bags and a digital scale,” what turned out to be $4,407 in cash” and more marijuana in another bag. A further search at the police station also revealed suspected marijuana and THC candy and the weight of the marijuana was about 13 ounces.
While in court, Kessel also pleaded guilty to earlier drug dealing charges from last month and the end of last year.
Two years ago, Kessel was sentenced to a one-year prison term after pleading guilty to a lesser charge stemming from what Haverhill police said in 2016 was a “drug deal gone bad” at Bradford’s Forest Acres apartment complex.
In 2017, following reports of disturbances, Haverhill Police watched Kessel’s 12 Lexington Ave., Haverhill, home with the department’s conspicuous, white Navistar International truck, labeled as a “video surveillance unit.”