PITTSFIELD -- The man prosecutors are calling a major player in Berkshire County's drug scene is being held on $500,000 bail bond following his arraignment on Wednesday in Central Berkshire District Court.
Isaac Lee Pizarro, 35, who had both Springfield and Pittsfield addresses listed in court records, pleaded not guilty to several drug-related felonies before Judge Jacklyn M. Connly.
Pizarro was arrested Tuesday afternoon by members of the Berkshire County Drug Task Force following a traffic stop in Lenox Dale. He was held overnight pending his arraignment.
Pizarro faces two counts of cocaine distribution, subsequent offense, and single counts of cocaine trafficking and possession, as well as conspiracy to violate drug laws.
At the arraignment, Assistant Berkshire District Attorney Richard M. Locke called Pizarro "one of the biggest drug dealers in the Berkshires."
The Berkshire County Drug Task Force has been investigating Pizarro since last June, according to a probable cause report. The task force -- a group of state and local police focusing on drug crimes -- learned Pizarro made a cocaine pickup in Springfield on Tuesday, the report stated.
Just before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Pizarro and his girlfriend, Maighan McKie, 31, of Pittsfield, who was allegedly driving with a suspended license, were pulled over by task force officers.
Pizarro was placed under arrest for two alleged hand-to-hand drug sales
While taking him into custody, a pat-down didn't turn up any drugs so Pizarro was placed in a police cruiser.
However, an officer allegedly saw Pizarro in the cruiser appearing to adjust himself in the seat, the police report stated. Suspicious, officers checked the back seat and found 60 grams of cocaine under the floor mat beneath Pizarro's feet, according to the report.
At the arraignment, Pizarro's lawyer, Joshua C. Hochberg, called that discovery "suspicious" and said his client had a strong case in his defense.
Police also searched an Appleton Avenue home, where police said Pizarro lives, and discovered 11 bags of cocaine wrapped for sale, along with drug dealing paraphernalia, according to the report.
Hochberg said his client didn't live there anymore.
The defense attorney asked that his client be held on $5,000 bail. Pizarro has lived in Pittsfield for the last 15 years and has three children, said Hochberg.
Locke asked that Pizarro be held on a $1 million bond citing the his criminal history.
Pizarro served prison time in New York -- for robbery -- and in Massachusetts for mayhem, said Locke. Pizarro also has a previous drug dealing conviction, said the prosecutor.
Pizarro is "believed to be a member of the Bloods" gang, according to a police probable cause report.
Judge Connly ordered Pizarro be held at the Berkshire County Jail & House of Correction in lieu of $50,000 cash or $500,000 bail bond. The defendant is scheduled to be back in court on May 4, but the case will likely be heard in Superior Court. Locke said prosecutors plan to present the case to the grand jury.
Locke said in court that McKie was Pizarro's girlfriend.
McKie, represented by Glenn Keiderling Jr., has pleaded not guilty to single counts of cocaine trafficking, conspiracy and driving with a suspended license. She was released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to be back in court May 3.
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