Jurors in the trial for a man accused of fatally shooting a Weymouth Police Officer and an innocent bystander continue their deliberations.
Emanuel Lopes is charged with the murders of Sergeant Michael Chesna and 77-year-old Vera Adams in July of 2018.
Jury deliberation started briefly last Wednesday, with full days on Thursday and Friday.
A juror was dismissed due to a personal commitment on Friday, and they started their deliberations over on Wednesday.
Today, deliberations were put on hold with what Judge Beverly Cannone called a “sensitive” matter.
Jurors were individually brought into the courtroom. One juror was brought into the courtroom multiple times, and appeared distraught during a sidebar conference with the judge and attorneys. The full jury was not present during these sessions.
It was not clear what the issue was. A jury was selected from Worcester County, and they are brought by bus to the Dedham Courthouse each day.
At 2 p.m., jurors were thanked for their patience, and were sent home for the weekend. Deliberations are set to resume on Monday.
In closing arguments Wednesday, defense attorney Larry Tipton says Lopes has an extensive history of mental illness, and was in a state of “psychosis,” the day of the murders after an argument with his girlfriend at the time.
He asked jurors to find Lopes not guilty by reason of insanity.
Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor says the Commonwealth agrees that Lopes has a mental disease or defect, citing testimony from doctors. But it did not affect his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
He says evidence shows Lopes acted deliberately, and intentionally took Chesa’s service weapon and shot him with it, shot at responding officers, and Vera Adams as she sat on her porch.
Chesna was a U.S. Army Sergeant who served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He left behind his wife, and two children. Adams was a life-long resident of Weymouth, and an avid reader who graduated from the high school in 1958.
