The judge in the Emanuel Lopes murder trial has declared a mistrial.
Lopes is charged with the murders of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and Torrey Street resident Vera Adams.
A mistrial occur when the jury deadlocks and cannot reach a unanimous decision. This means the trial can start all over again from the beginning with a new jury. This trial had 14 days of testimony.
The district attorney would have to decide whether or not to bring the case forward again. This would not violate the constitutional prohibition on “double jeopardy” because no verdict was reached.
Lopes was facing 11 charges in connection with a July 15, 2018 shooting, his defense attorney argued that he suffered from mental illness and his condition had worsened that day. Lopes was in “a state of oblivion” during the encounters with Chesna and Adams, Larry Tipton said during his closing statement.
The jury of nine women and three men from Worcester County began deliberations a month after they heard opening arguments.
The 11 counts Lopes was charged with
Lopes was charged with:
Murder in the deaths of Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesna
- Murder in the death of Vera Adams
- Armed assault with intent to murder involving a firearm (2 counts)
- Assault and battery dangerous weapon (rock)
- Larceny of a firearm
- Carrying a firearm without an FID card
- Use of a motor vehicle without authority
- Negligent operation of a motor vehicle
- Leaving the scene of a collision causing property damage
- Malicious destruction of property (throwing rock at the window on Burton Terrace)
What prison sentence could Lopes be facing?
Lopes was facing life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder.
What was the case against Emanuel Lopes
Lopes was accused of attacking Chesna when he was fleeing a minor car accident.
Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said Lopes hit Chesna in the head with the rock from 10 to 12 feet away. Lopes then took Chesna’s gun, fired it once at his police cruiser and four times at the officer, and then at two other officers who were arriving.
Lopes then fired three shots at Adams, who was standing on her sunporch, Connor said.
Police said Lopes was still holding Chesna’s gun when he was stopped and arrested on Torrey Street. There was no ammunition left in the gun, prosecutors have said, and Lopes got on the ground as ordered by police. State troopers used Chesna’s handcuffs to restrain Lopes after his arrest.
Lopes was indicted by a Norfolk County grand jury in September 2018 in connection with the deaths of Chesna and Adams on July 15, 2018. He has been held without bail since.
Who was Vera Adams and Sgt. Michael Chesna
Chesna, a 42-year-old married father of two, graduated in 1994 from Weymouth High School, which later became Chapman Middle School. He served with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and received a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He joined the Weymouth Police Department in 2012. He was a 1994 Weymouth High School graduate. A bridge that carries Weymouth’s Main Street, Route 18, over the commuter rail tracks was dedicated as the Sgt. Michael C. Chesna First Responders Bridge upon its completion in 2022. The gymnasium at Weymouth’s Chapman Middle School was also named in his honor upon that facility’s completion. Hanover, where he lived, also honored Chesna in 2022 by renaming its street hockey rink the Sergeant Michael C. Chesna Memorial Rink.
Adams was remembered by a neighbor in 2018 as “a very good neighbor with a great smile.” The 77-year-old widow had few remaining family members, but friends and members of the community stopped by her home after her death to drop flowers on the steps. Her obituary mentioned her love of reading, dinners with friends and trips to Cape Cod. A reading room at Weymouth’s Tufts Library was dedicated in her memory.