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Anthony Gaston has denied drug charges. |
Anthony Gaston, a Boston firefighter who was arrested Friday and charged with smoking marijuana in a department car, is scheduled to go to trial later this month to defend himself against charges that he assaulted his former girl- friend in front of her two daughters last spring.
Gaston, 47, was arraigned on charges of possession of marijuana and prescription pills in Dorchester District Court yesterday, as details of his past surfaced through court records.
A not-guilty plea was entered on behalf of Gaston, who declined to comment.
Gaston was arrested in Dorchester after police officers, acting on a tip from a confidential informant, saw him and two other men smoking what appeared to be marijuana in a red Chevrolet Malibu, which Gaston uses in his position as an inspector in the department's Fire Prevention Division, prosecutors said.
Police found five bags of marijuana in the car and on one of the men, according to a police report.
Judge Sydney Hanlon revoked bail that was set last year after Gaston was charged with assault and battery in allegedly choking Crystal Evans and then punching her in the eye in June. Evans filed a restraining order against him less than two weeks later.
"My girls and I are scared to go out," Evans wrote in an affidavit. "He follows us around."
Gaston's lawyer, Tim Brown, told Hanlon yesterday that his client was not a threat to the community.
"This is a simple possession case with a very unremarkable amount of" marijuana, he said. "There is nothing about the new case that makes Mr. Gaston more dangerous than before."
Gaston will be held until his trial for assault and battery starts March 27.
The men who were in the car with him - Richard Jackson, 43, of Mattapan and Andre Knox, 41, of Dorchester, were also charged with possession of marijuana and released on personal recognizance.
Knox, a painter, declined to comment as he left the courtroom.
Jackson said he has known Gaston since the 1980s, when the two men were part of a rap group called "Gang Peace Patrol."
"It's ignorance," Jackson said of the charges.
Gaston's arrest occurred as the firefighters' union and city officials are negotiating a new contract. City officials have been calling for firefighters to be tested for drugs and alcohol, especially since autopsy results indicated that two firefighters were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they died fighting a restaurant fire in West Roxbury Aug. 29.
Gaston was suspended with pay after the drug arrest.
Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said officials made that decision because Gaston, who was supposed to be off duty, was in uniform and using a department car when he was arrested.
Gaston, who was not suspended after the assault charge, had notified the department about that arrest, MacDonald said.
"That doesn't constitute putting someone on leave with pay," he said. "It's a case-by-case basis."
Gaston has been accused of threatening women in the past. His former wife, Avonda Graham, who was identified as a Boston police officer in court records, said he threatened to kill her while they were married in 1995, according to a police report. She made a similar accusation in 2001, when they were about to divorce.
Prosecutors said there was enough evidence to go to trial both times, but agreed to dismiss the charges as long as Gaston stayed out of trouble, according to court records
In 2000, Gaston was arrested by Natick police who said they caught him driving under the influence of alcohol and found marijuana on him, according to the Natick District Court clerk's office. His license was suspended for 45 days. The drug charges were dismissed in February 2001, according to the clerk's office, because Gaston had agreed to random urine tests and had not been arrested again.
John R. Ellement and Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
