A 15-year-old Haverhill high school freshman is accused of running a 24-hour drug pickup operation from her bedroom window.
The girl was arrested, and according to court documents, police believe she was selling the drugs with her mother's consent.
Police and neighbors said it was easy as walking up the back stairs of the multifamily home where the girl lived and making the exchange.
“(For it) to happen in your own building -- I sleep in the back with my son,” said Tanya Silva, a woman who lives on the second floor of the building, just below where the alleged drug deals were happening. “To know they were coming up the back there and drugs were being bought it is kind of disturbing.”
The 15-year-old girl is not being named because of her age. In court documents, authorities alleged that her mother, 37-year-old Heather Vittorioso, told narcotics detectives “... she knew that (her daughter) was selling weed but had no idea about anything else.”
Neighbors said they found that hard to believe, saying it sounded like a routine stampede of foot traffic heading up to Vittorioso’s daughter’s bedroom.
“People were going up and down the stairs (at) 2 and 3 a.m.,” Brianna Rogers said.
Investigators said they found marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, two unlicensed guns and ammunition while executing a search warrant Friday on the Vittoriosos’ third-floor apartment. Police also reportedly seized $1,069 in cash.
Authorities said the bulk of the cash and a stash of drugs were found in a top drawer of the teen’s bedroom dresser, just 3 feet from the window.
“You’ve got to know how to raise your children,” said Elijah Silva, a friend of the teen suspect. “It starts from the base.”
He told Boston 25 News that he believes the girl made a mistake and that he hopes she learns from it.
“There comes a fine line where you got to tell your children to stop,” he said. “You can’t let your children take control of you.”
Eighteen-year-old Cameron Dawson is also charged in the case. According to investigators, Dawson is the boyfriend of the 15-year-old girl and had been living in her bedroom.
Police said the teen girl’s dad is also in jail on unrelated assault and kidnapping charges.
