Jury deciding fate of suspect in slaying of Weymouth cop, bystander sent home for weekend

DEDHAM – After a second day of deliberations, the jury deciding the fate of Emanuel Lopes has been sent home for the weekend by Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone.

Deliberations are scheduled to resume Monday morning.

Lopes, 26, is on trial for a second time, charged with murder in the 2018 shooting deaths of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and Vera Adams. Lopes' first trial ended in a hung jury July 10 after one juror refused to deliberate any further, preventing the jury from reaching a unanimous verdict and resulting in a mistrial. That jury came from Worcester County.

Lopes is also charged with hitting Chesna with a large rock, stealing his gun, and shooting at two other police officers.

The jury heard closing arguments from the prosecution and defense and instructions of the law from Cannone before beginning their deliberations early Thursday afternoon. They spent about two hours in the jury room before going home for the night to resume their work Friday morning.

The historic main courtroom at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham was packed for the court session, with Chesna's family, friends and police officers, many who have been there throughout both trials, filling the hard wooden benches of the spectator section. Many brought their own pillows and cushions to sit on.

Lopes' defense in Weymouth shooting deaths: Mental health issues

Defense lawyer Larry Tipton asked the jury to carefully consider the "thousands" of pages of medical records dealing with Lopes' mental health introduced as evidence in the trial as well as the testimony of expert witnesses for the defense.

"He was diagnosed with multiple mental health problems," he said.

Tipton said his client was "afraid to be crazy."

"There were times he was normal. There were times he pretended to be normal," Tipton said of his client.

In the weeks leading up to the July 15, 2018, shooting, Lopes was exhibiting signs of major mental illness, Tipton said.

There is no question on whether Lopes shot Chesna and Adams, Tipton said. He did, but Lopes could not appreciate that his actions were wrong

"He admits he shot him. He admits a tragedy occurred" Tipton said. "We ask you to find Mr. Lopes not guilty because he lacked criminal responsibility"

Prosecution in killings of Chesna, Adams: Lopes' actions were deliberate choices

Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said the case "is about the murder of two people: Mike Chesna and Vera Adams."

He said that Lopes' mental illness did not interfere with his ability to conform his behavior to the law. Lopes made a choice to throw the rock and aim for Chesna's head, chose to take the officer's gun, and then chose to stand over the uniformed police officer and fire eight shots at him, four to his head.

Lopes fired three shots at Adams because she was a witness to the attack on Chesna, Connor said. Adams was inside her home when she was shot.

When the gun was out of bullets, he surrendered to police., the prosecutor said.

"He can appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions," Connor said of Lopes. "His life is changed forever. The lives of Vera Adams and Mike Chesna are over forever."

If convicted, what will Lopes' sentence be

If convicted of first degree murder, Lopes faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

The 12 jurors and four alternates were selected in Bristol County and brought by bus to Dedham each day.

How the South Shore remembers Chesna, Adams

Chesna, 42, had been a Weymouth police officer for six years. A 1994 graduate of Weymouth High School, he served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, and two children.

The gym at Chapman Middle School, a street hockey rink where he lived in Hanover and a bridge on Route 18 in Weymouth are all named for Chesna.

Adams loved reading, and a reading room at Weymouth's Tufts Library is named for her.

Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Emanuel Lopes waits for the jury in second Weymouth murder trial