In July 2018, Weymouth (Mass.) Police Sergeant Michael Chesna and an innocent bystander were shot and killed while Chesna was investigating a minor car accident. The driver, Emmanuel Lopez, who fled the scene of the accident, undoubtedly stole Chesna’s service revolver and used it to kill two innocent people. Now, six years later, his victims are justice is finally given after the jury Lopez was found guilty of murder on Friday..
Chesna was a military veteran, married and the father of two children.
Lopez also faces other charges related to the incident, including assault for throwing a rock at Chesna’s head and firing Chesna’s service revolver at other officers who responded to the incident. convicted.
Lopez’s attorneys have never denied that Lopez killed Chesna and 77-year-old innocent bystander Bella Adams, who was killed by Lopez as she tried to flee the scene. However, they argued that Lopez suffered from severe insanity and did not understand that his actions were illegal.
When Mr. Lopez was first tried, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial was declared. The state ultimately chose to retry Mr. Lopez. The second trial also likely ended in a mistrial, as the jury deadlocked for several days. It took six days of deliberations and numerous questions to the judge before the jury was ready to announce its verdict. Due to the length of deliberations, Lopez’s attorneys again requested a mistrial, but the judge instead ordered the jury to continue deliberating. Eventually, they were able to reach an agreement that Lopez was guilty.
Mr Chesna’s family and fellow Weymouth police officers praised the decision. Weymouth Police Chief Richard Fuller “I’m glad this evil person is going to prison where he belongs. This issue has been weighing on us for six years, but at least we can finally forget this part.” said.
A sentencing hearing for Lopez is scheduled for March 19.
