Jury finally convicts suspect from 2018 murder of Massachusetts police officer, innocent bystander

In July 2018, Weymouth (Mass.) police Sgt. Michael Chesna and an innocent bystander were shot while Chesna investigated a minor car crash. Emanuel Lopes, a driver who fled the scene of the crash, undisputably wrestled Chesna's service revolver away from him and used it to kill two innocent people. Now, six years later, his victims finally have justice after a jury convicted Lopes of murder on Friday.

Chesna was a military veteran and married father of two.

Lopes was also convicted of other charges related to the incident, including assault for having thrown a rock at Chesna's head, and other counts for firing Chesna's service revolver at other police officers who responded to the incident.

Lopes' attorneys have never denied that Lopes killed Chesna and Vera Adams, a 77-year-old innocent bystander who was killed as Lopes attempted to flee the scene. However, they have claimed that Lopes suffers from mental insanity so severe that he did not understand his actions were wrongful.

The first time Lopes was tried, a mistrial was declared after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. The state ultimately opted to try Lopes again. There are indications that this second trial also nearly ended in a mistrial as the jury remained deadlocked for days. It took six days of deliberations and numerous questions asked of the judge before the jury was ready to announce their verdict. The length of deliberations led Lopes' attorneys to ask for a mistrial again, but the judge instead ordered the jury to continue deliberations. Eventually, they were able to reach consensus that Lopes was guilty.

Chesna's family and fellow Weymouth police officers applauded the decision. Weymouth police chief Richard Fuller said, "Glad that this evil person is going to jail where he belongs. It's been weighing on us for six years and at least we can put this part behind us, finally."

A sentencing hearing for Lopes has been set for March 19th.