The jury has yet to decide the fate of Emanuel Lopes, the man charged with the murder of Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and bystander Vera Adams nearly five years ago, after three days of deliberations.
Lopes, 25, faces a total of 11 charges to which he has pleaded not guilty. In addition to the murder charges, he stands accused of attempted murder, weapons, assault and other charges for the July 15, 2018, shootings. Jurors received the case on Wednesday following closing arguments.
Prosecutors and the defense pitted their arguments on culpability in the deaths. Prosecutor Greg Connors said the killing of Chesna with his own gun was a deliberate act and defense attorney Larry Tipton stressed that his client has suffered from mental illness, which was compounded by marijuana use.
Deliberations are set to resume Monday.
— Flint McColgan
State police and local authorities are investigating an “unattended death” last week at the Sterling Police Department, a spokesperson for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said Friday.
“Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office and Sterling Police continue to investigate the June 23 unattended death at the Sterling Police Department,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Authorities are awaiting autopsy results which include toxicology reports.”
Additional details were not available Friday morning.
Sterling Police Chief Sean Gaudette did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
— Chris Van Buskirk
Stepheon Wells, 20, was arrested Friday morning by members of the Boston Police Fugitive Unit on a murder warrant out of Dorchester District Court.
Wells is accused of killing Diva Ayuso, of Sharon, on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 18.
He was arraigned on murder and firearms-related charges Friday in Dorchester District Court, and was ordered held without bail, the Suffolk District Attorney’s office said.
Boston Police said Ayuso was shot multiple times a little before 9 p.m. around Fermoy Heights near Franklin Hill Green park in Dorchester, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ayuso was declared “non-viable” at 9:54 p.m. An autopsy determined her death was caused by “multiple gunshot wounds,” and her manner of death was homicide, the report states.
A search warrant was executed on March 28, and Wells was arrested on a straight warrant on Friday, at 8:04 a.m., the report states.
Wells will return to court on July 31 for a probable cause hearing, the DA’s office said.
— Gayla Cawley
The Boston Police Department announced three arrests in Dorchester involving guns and drugs.
In separate arrests spanning Thursday, with the first at 8 a.m. and the last at 9:42 p.m., Hub cops arrested Michael Ross, 19, of Brockton; Victor Bocage, 49, of Dorchester; and Shalik Jordan, 31, of South Boston, all on firearms and drug charges.
Ross was arrested because he was present that morning when police looking out for a minor with a firearms possession warrant in an apartment in the first block of Norfolk Terrace, a department spokesman wrote in a statement.
They then swept the apartment and allegedly found four additional loaded Glocks, all of which had high-capacity magazines and one fitted with a “switch” to make it fully automatic.
Next was Bocage, who was arrested a little before 2:30 p.m. on the 100-block of Lucerne Street and charged with a medley of firearms and drug possession and trafficking charges. Police allege they found a loaded Taurus GX4 pistol, loaded Walther P22 pistol, an empty magazine, a pair of brass knuckles and more than 130 rounds of assorted bullets, as well as cocaine and colorfully branded marijuana products.
Last was Jordan, who had an active warrant for his arrest for firearms-related charges and who they found and arrested that night in the 100-block of Westview Street. Police arrested Jordan on firearms and drug charges. They say they found a loaded Glock 48 in his car and plastic bags they believed to contain fentanyl and cocaine.
— Flint McColgan
