No Bail For Emanuel Lopes, Charged In Murder Of Weymouth Officer Michael Chesna & Bystander Vera Adams
QUINCY (CBS/AP) – In front of a courtroom packed with Weymouth police officers, the man charged with killing officer Michael Chesna and an innocent bystander pleaded not guilty to murder charges Tuesday afternoon. He was ordered held without bail.
Emanuel Lopes, 20, was arraigned in Quincy District Court on two counts of murder and several other charges in the horrific attack Sunday morning.
The hearing was delayed several minutes as Lopes met with his attorney in a police van outside the courthouse before the arraignment. He sat in a wheelchair during the arraignment, dressed in a hospital gown.
A judge denied a request by Lopes' defense attorney that he undergo a 20-day mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital. Instead, he will go to the Dedham House of Corrections.
Police say Lopes was throwing rocks at a home when he was confronted by Officer Chesna. That's when Lopes hit Chesna in the head with a rock. Prosecutors detailed in court that Lopes used two hands over his head to throw the rock the size of half a basketball at Chesna, who then fell to the ground.
Lopes then took the officer's gun and repeatedly shot him, investigators said. According to a police report, Chesna was shot approximately five times in the head and five times in the torso and legs.
Another officer who had arrived at the scene shot Lopes in the leg. Lopes then ran off and fired shots into a nearby home, intentionally killing 77-year-old Vera Adams, police said. Lopes was arrested and brought to South Shore Hospital where he's currently being held under police custody.
Lopes has a history with Weymouth Police. He was out on bail and on pre-trial probation at the time of the shootings, and even though he didn't show up for a court-ordered drug test in February and failed a drug test in April, his bail wasn't revoked and he was allowed to stay on the street.
He is due back in court August 15. Lopes faces two life sentences if he is found guilty.
