NORTHAMPTON — A Northampton High School student is accused of forcing a man at gunpoint to hand over roughly $200 worth of marijuana during a drug transaction.
Northampton police have charged Chase Netto, 18, of 21 Main St., with armed robbery. Netto pleaded not guilty to the charge Monday in Northampton District Court.
Netto’s attorney, Luke Ryan, confirmed he was released Tuesday from Hampshire Jail and House of Correction on special conditions.
Late last month, officials at the high school acted on a tip that Netto held up someone at gunpoint for drugs, police said, and reported the allegations to authorities. Superintendent John Provost could not be reached Tuesday evening for comment.
Police interviewed the alleged victim, a 19-year-old man whom the Gazette is not identifying, and learned that he and Netto agreed via Snapchat to meet the night of March 26, at which point the man would sell him an ounce of marijuana for $200, according to a police report.
The seller arrived just after 11 p.m. at the agreed meet-up spot near the basketball courts on Woodlawn Avenue.
Netto arrived and entered the man’s car from the passenger side, police said. Netto asked to see and smell the marijuana, according to the report, prompting the seller to try and close the deal.
“That will be $200,” he told Netto, according to the report.
Authorities say that’s when Netto displayed a handgun and pointed it at the man, who put his hands up and stared straight ahead. Twice, Netto asked for the marijuana.
“I thought we were friends,” the man said, before he surrendered the marijuana.
Netto “bolted” from the car, police said, and fled the area in a different vehicle. He’s due back in court May 9.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.