What jurors heard on Day 2 of the trial for the man accused of killing a Weymouth officer
WEYMOUTH − Jurors in the trial of a man accused of murdering a Weymouth police officer and local resident looked around the exterior of a Burton Terrace home Friday and then heard one of its residents describe what it was like to be inside the home on July 15, 2018.
The resident, William Kendall, said he was sitting in his kitchen that Sunday morning reading the paper when a rock crashed through a nearby window. He said the rock was one of the extra landscaping stones that he used to edge his garden.
Later, Kendall heard gunshots and frantically called to his wife, who was upstairs, to get down.
He testified that he heard people outside his house say words to the effect of "Give up, you're surrounded."
Kendall was one of the witnesses Friday on the second day of testimony in the murder trial of Emanuel Lopes, who is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and Torrey Street resident Vera Adams.
What prosecutors allege occurred on July 15, 2018, in Weymouth
Lopes faces 11 charges, including two counts of murder and armed assault with intent to murder involving a firearm.
Authorities say Lopes, who was 20 years old at the time, was fleeing a minor car accident nearby when he threw a rock at Chesna's head, took the officer's gun and shot him with it. Chesna was a 42-year-old father of three and a U.S. Army veteran.
Two officers then arrived at the scene. Police officer Sean Murphy returned fire through the windshield of his cruiser, hitting Lopes in his right knee. Lopes returned fire and ran through a neighbor's backyard, police said. He then shot Adams, who was on the sun porch of her home, police said.
Lopes was still holding Chesna's gun when he was stopped and arrested on Torrey Street, police said. There was no ammunition in the gun, prosecutors said, and Lopes complied with police orders to get on the ground.
What the witnesses to the shooting testified to in the Emanuel Lopes trial
Also testifying Friday was Mary Duffy, who said she found a bullet hole in the gutter of her garage on Torrey Street four days after the shooting. Torrey Street intersects with Burton Terrace.
John Goldrosen, a former Braintree assistant town solicitor, told the court he was driving on Route 18 when a white vehicle going very fast passed him. He later saw the vehicle stopped at an angle on Columbian Street, near where the shooting took place.
Jurors visit Burton Terrace in Weymouth on second day of trial
During a view of the area earlier in the day, the jury looked and listened as Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor and defense attorney Larry Tipton pointed out features of the houses and yards on Burton Terrace.
The site visit was cut short because of rain. Jurors are scheduled to return to the scene Wednesday.
In his opening statement Thursday, Tipton told the jury that Lopes had "major" mental health problems. Prosecutors say the shootings were deliberate.
Day 1: Two portraits of accused cop killer: Mentally ill vs. deliberate murderer
What to expect next in the trial
Testimony will continue Monday in the trial before Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
Reach Fred Hanson at fhanson@patriotledger.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Jurors for Emanuel Lopes' trial visit Weymouth site: Day 2
