Massachusetts man is found guilty of murder in the deaths of a police officer and elderly widow

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man charged with killing a police officer and an innocent bystander in July 2018 was found guilty Friday of multiple charges, including murder.

It was the second trial for Emanuel Lopes after Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial last year when a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict.

Earlier this week the new jury sent notes to Cannone saying it hadn’t reached a decision, but the judge ordered jurors to keep deliberating.

The courtroom erupted in cheers and applause when the guilty verdict was read Friday.

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Investigators said Lopes shot Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42, a military veteran and married father of two, as well as bystander Vera Adams, a 77-year-old widow.

Prosecutor Greg Connor has described Lopes as a calculating killer and urged he be found guilty on 11 charges.

The defense has argued that Lopes lacked criminal responsibility because he had a long history of mental illness and was in “a state of oblivion” on the day of the killings.

Lopes was fleeing the scene of a minor car crash and Chesna was investigating. Prosecutors say Lopes threw a large rock at the officer’s head, knocking him to the ground unconscious, then grabbed the officer’s gun and shot him multiple times.

As he fled, Lopes shot Adams, who was on her porch. When he was caught, Chesna’s service weapon was out of ammunition, authorities said.