Weymouth double-murder retrial: Is Lopes legally responsible, or ‘very mentally ill’?

DEDHAM - Radically different portraits of Emanuel Lopes were painted by lawyers for the prosecution and the defense during opening arguments in his second double-murder trial in Superior Court on Wednesday. Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor told jurors how Lopes hit Weymouth police Sgt.

Michael Chesna[1] in the head with a rock and then took the downed officer's gun. "He stood over Michael Chesna and fired eight times into him," Connor said. Defense lawyer Christie Feeney said Lopes was "a very mentally ill young man" who was so deep in a psychotic state the day of the shooting that he didn't immediately realize he had been shot in the leg by a Weymouth police officer.

"In a psychotic state, he shot Sgt. Chesna and Vera Adams," she said.

Defense lawyer Christie Feeney makes her opening argument at Dedham Superior Court in the retrial of Emanuel Lopes on Wednesday, Jan.

17, 2024. He is accused of murder in the deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and town resident Vera Adams.

Possible life in prison without parole

Lopes, 26, of Brockton, is facing first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Chesna and Adams, who was on her sunporch when she was shot the morning of July 15, 2018.

If convicted, Lopes faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He also faces nine other charges. His fate will be decided by 12 of the 16 jurors - 11 women and five men - who were selected among Bristol County residents under a change of venue request from the defense that was granted by Judge Beverly Cannone in October.

Cindy Chesna listens to details about the 2018 death of her husband, Michael, during the retrial of Emanuel Lopes at Dedham Superior Court on Wednesday, Jan.

17, 2024. Lopes is accused of murder in the deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and town resident Vera Adams.

Attending the court session was Chesna's widow, Cindy, along with friends and other family members, District Attorney Michael Morrissey, Weymouth Police Chief Richard Fuller and former Police Chief Richard Grimes. Lopes' first trial ended in a hung jury[2] July 10 after one juror refused to deliberate[3] any further, preventing the jury from reaching a unanimous verdict and resulting in a mistrial. That jury of nine women and three men had been selected in Worcester County.

They had deliberated for 24 hours over six days.

It started with a minor traffic accident

Prosecutor Greg Connor outlines the accusations against Emanuel Lopes as Lopes' retrial begins at Dedham Superior Court on Wednesday, Jan.

17, 2024. Lopes is accused of murder in the deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and town resident Vera Adams.

Lopes, who was 20 at the time of the shootings, was fleeing a minor traffic accident at the intersection of Route 18 and Columbian Street, in front of South Shore Hospital. He was driving the car of an ex-girlfriend without permission. He then made his way to the nearby area of Burton Terrace and Torrey Street, where the shootings look place.

Connor said Weymouth police officer Sean Murphy saw Lopes shooting Chesna and fired a shot through his cruiser's windshield, hitting him. Lopes also fired four shots at other officers arriving at the scene and then three shots into the window of Adams' sunporch. Connor said two of the shots hit her.

Emanuel Lopes is seated at Dedham Superior Court as his retrial begins on Wednesday, Jan.

17, 2024. Lopes is accused of murder in the July 2018 deaths of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and town resident Vera Adams.

Officers ordered Lopes to drop the gun and to get on the ground and he complied, Connor said. The gun was empty. Of the shell casings recovered from the scene, all but one came from Chesna's gun.

The other one was from Murphy's gun, the prosecutor said.

Lopes had history of mental illness, lawyer says

Feeney said Lopes had a long history of mental illness, serious enough to require hospitalization and resulting in a suicide attempt when he was a student at Weymouth High School. At the time of the shootings, Lopes was "homeless and jobless" and was going through a break-up with a longtime girlfriend - circumstances that can cause mental health problems to worsen, Feeney said. She said he was unable to conform his behavior to the law "as a result of his mental illness" and asked for a not guilty verdict.

Reach Fred Hanson at [email protected]. Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer[4].

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Opening arguments heard in double-murder retrial of Emanuel Lopes[5]

References

1. ^ Sgt.

   Michael Chesna (news.yahoo.com)

2. ^ hung jury (news.yahoo.com)
3. ^ refused to deliberate (news.yahoo.com)
4. ^ Here is our latest offer (www.patriotledger.com)
5. ^ Opening arguments heard in double-murder retrial of Emanuel Lopes (www.patriotledger.com)