NORTHAMPTON – Five police officers took the stand Monday to testify about the dozens of guns prosecutors allege were improperly stored in the home of former Pelham police chief Edward Fleury.
Fleury is charged with 22 counts of improperly storing a firearm stemming from a Sept. 11, 2014, search of his Pelham residence. Police were looking for a Glock handgun which he allegedly pointed at a friend outside the Belchertown VFW in August 2014.
Fleury was acquitted in October 2016 of an assault with a dangerous weapon charge arising from the VFW incident, as well as two counts of improperly storing a firearm. He has pleaded not guilty to the more than 20 charges in Hampshire Superior Court where his trial began Friday.
First on the stand Monday was Massachusetts State Police Trooper Geraldine Bresnahan, who recalled moving through Fleury’s house and seeing “various types of long guns” or rifles in the home’s living room and a first floor study.
Using the second floor bathroom vanity as a makeshift desk, Bresnahan was responsible for recording the makes, models and serial numbers of firearms passed down from the attic by other officers in the home. The jury was shown photos of what appeared to be gun cases stacked in blue recycling bins and plastic bins.
Bresnahan testified that approximately 40 guns were brought out of the attic.
Former Deerfield police officer Nathan Coffin testified that he was inside the attic, handing down the firearms. Coffin, now an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in Wisconsin, said that while some of the gun cases located in the attic had locks, they did not prevent him from opening the cases and accessing firearms.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas and defense attorney Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross questioned Coffin about whether he had seen damage near the entrance to the attic. Coffin said he did not see any damage.
“You stated you don’t recall seeing damage on the attic space door, but again, you weren’t the first person to go into the attic space,” Rodriguez-Ross said. “In terms of the stairs, when you came up, the stairs were already down.”
Retired Massachusetts state trooper Robin Whitney testified that there were guns everywhere in the home.
“I don’t remember any gun having a trigger lock,” she said, noting that some of the cases found may have been locked.
Whitney was one of four officers who made initial contact with Fleury’s wife, Jacalyn Fleury, at the home on Sept. 11, 2014. Edward Fleury had been called away from the house before police executed the search. Jacalyn Fleury, who at the time was a licensed gun owner, was home when the police arrived.
Thomas questioned why Edward Fleury was called away and why Jacalyn Fleury could not re-enter the home. Whitney answered it was due to safety concerns as well as to keep evidence secure.
She also testified that she was the one who found a handgun under a seat cushion in the home’s dining room.
As Pelham Officer Eric Maynard took the stand to answer questions on the inventory of firearms taken from the home, Rodriguez-Ross objected numerous times.
Last to take the stand was Lt. John Crane, a Massachusetts State Police ballistician, who helped analyze the seized firearms. He testified about firearms testing procedures and protocols. He will take the stand to resume testimony Tuesday morning.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case by midmorning and the defense will have a chance to call its first witness Tuesday. The jury could begin deliberating as early as Wednesday.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.