NORTHAMPTON — After about two-and-a-half hours of deliberations Friday, a jury acquitted former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury of several firearms-related charges — a verdict that brought him to tears outside the courtroom.
Fleury was tried in Hampshire Superior Court where he faced charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of improper storage of a firearm.
Fleury has also pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of improper storage of a large-capacity firearm. Those charges, however, will not be addressed until a second trial, which is expected to begin later this year.
The defendant served as Pelham police chief from 1991 to 2009, but resigned his post after an 8-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed himself with a machine gun during a Westfield firearms exhibition that Fleury organized in 2008. He was acquitted of manslaughter in connection with the boy’s death in 2011.
At the start of this five-day trial, Fleury faced three additional improper storage charges, but Judge Mark Mason ordered they be dismissed after defense attorney Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross argued there was insufficient evidence.
Fleury previously testified he and longtime friend, Peter Terapulsky, met for drinks the evening of Aug. 2, 2014 at the Belchertown VFW post to discuss a joint business venture “involving firearm safety.”
Terapulsky testified earlier in the trial that Fleury trained his handgun, with a Crimson Trace laser aim, on his chest. He also testified that, although he wasn’t immediately phased by the incident, he became increasingly anxious upon reflection.
Under questioning from his attorney Friday, Fleury explained his reason for pointing the gun at Terapulsky, noting that he had trained other officers with the de-escalation technique either at an academy or a conference and sometimes in regular classes.
“Why were you doing this technique?” Rodriguez-Ross asked.
“He was going to be one of the instructors. I wanted him to see it,” Fleury said. “I was going to get him certified so he’d have the credentials of what we were already apprenticing.”
More than a month after the incident, on Sept. 11, police served a search warrant on Fleury’s home in an attempt, authorities said, to locate the gun allegedly used in the Aug. 2 incident outside the bar.
Before police arrived, Fleury was lured away from his home and asked to report to the Pelham Police Department while 15 to 20 officers searched his home with his wife still at the residence. He was arrested when he arrived at the station.
Authorities said they found more than 200 guns, “dozens” of which were unlocked or unsecured. Many were in plain view, in cabinets, on tables or in trash bags, according to court documents, and a loaded, unlocked revolver was found under a cushion in a chair.
As part of his testimony, Fleury recounted the day of his arrest. He said he and his wife were preparing to go to a firing range and had taken out guns to make sure they were fully functional.
Fleury said he told the Pelham Police Chief Gary Thomann that he couldn’t go to the Police Station that morning when asked to do so by Thomann because he had unsecured weapons at his home.
When Thomann pressed Fleury to come to station, Fleury said Thomann asked if his wife was home. Fleury said when he told the police chief yes, he responded “that was good,” because she could watch the guns because she is licensed.
When Fleury arrived at the station, he said he first thought the officers in tactical gear and camouflage he saw were doing a training exercise.
“I didn’t think it was for real. Why would it be?” he said. “Sooner or later, I realized it was for real.”
Fleury cried and embraced family members and his attorney outside the courtroom after the verdict was read.
“I never, ever, ever intended to harm my friend,” Fleury said.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.