A Somerville man employed by the Cambridge Health Alliance as a uniformed special police officer in its public safety department was arraigned Friday, Jan. 31, on drug charges after allegedly selling cocaine to an undercover officer.

William Kelly, 32, was arraigned in Somerville District Court following his arrest Jan. 30 and charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, conspiracy to violate drug laws and possession of cocaine. Somerville District Court Judge Maurice Flynn set bail at $1,000 and ordered Kelly not to leave the state.

According to authorities, Kelly allegedly sold cocaine to an undercover officer three times last month while in the parking lot of his employer while on duty and wearing his patrol-officer uniform.  Kelly worked at several of the Alliance’s hospital locations. As part of his employment, he had been sworn in as a special state police officer, which afforded him the ability to make arrests and conduct investigations. Such officers generally are employed by hospitals or colleges and are not employed by the Massachusetts State Police.

Over the course of the investigation, Kelly allegedly told undercover officers he would sell them cocaine and MDMA, also known as “Molly.”  He arranged to meet an undercover officer Jan. 16 in the parking lot of his place of employment in Somerville.  He allegedly approached the car and handed the officer an envelope that contained a small plastic baggie filled with a white powdery substance. The substance was later field-tested, and the results were positive for cocaine. Two additional transactions allegedly occurred on Cambridge Health Alliance properties. The first was in Malden Jan. 27 and the second in Somerville Jan. 30. Both transactions involved the sale of a substance alleged to be cocaine.

Kelly will be back in court for a pretrial conference March 12.