Daily Happenings from poetsareangels

WOBURN, Mass. —An Ashland police officer who was the subject of a Team 5 investigation has been indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury in connection with the destruction of evidence and other misconduct he is accused of.

Sgt. Edward Pomponio, 50, was indicted on charges of wanton destruction of evidence and two counts of obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors believe Pomponio discarded key drug evidence in a pending criminal case and then tried to intimidate another officer from reporting it.

Pomponio, who served as the police department’s evidence officer in July 2011, is alleged to have thrown out critical evidence in a then open and active criminal case involving drug charges.

According to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, without the evidence, the case could not proceed and had to be dismissed.

Pomponio’s attorney Joe Hennessey said his client was shocked and intended to fight the charges to the fullest extent.

“We take these allegations and the resulting indictment very seriously both as a department and community, but they are in no way a reflection on the professionalism of the men and women of the Ashland Police Department,” Ashland Town Manager Tony Schiavi said.

An arraignment date has not yet been set.