NORTHAMPTON — The wife of former Pelham Police Chief Edward Fleury detailed to a jury the safety measures her husband, an avid gun collector, took in storing his weapons — the same weapons prosecutors allege were improperly stored in his home in 2014.
One of five witnesses to testify in Hampshire Superior Court Tuesday, Jacalyn Fleury also disputed allegations that an attic door and gun safe were found unlocked by police who searched the couple’s Pelham home on Sept. 11, 2014, and found more than 200 guns, dozens of them allegedly improperly stored.
She testified that she was “shocked” and “scared” when police showed up at the home to execute a search warrant three years ago.
“It sounded to me my front door was being kicked in,” she said from the stand. “When I heard ‘Police, police,’ I thought something awful had happened.”
Edward Fleury is charged with 22 counts of improperly storing a firearm stemming from the search. Police were looking for a Glock handgun that 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.
At the time of the search warrant, both Edward and Jacalyn Fleury had valid licenses to carry. Following his arrest, Edward Fleury’s license was revoked. Three to four days later, Jacalyn Fleury’s was revoked, Pelham Police Chief Gary Thomann said.
Under questioning, Pelham Police Lt. Kevin Fournier detailed his more than two-decade-long relationship with Edward Fleury. More than a decade ago, Fournier helped Fleury make modifications to his home’s attic space, including removing beams and installing drop down stairs to allow for the space to be used for storage.
Defense attorney Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross questioned whether Fournier helped install a lock on the door. He answered that he did not remember doing so.
Fleury was called away from the home before police executed the search warrant over safety concerns, according to testimony from both Thomann and Fournier. When Fleury was chief of police in Pelham, he hired Thomann and promoted him twice. Fleury’s father also baptized Thomann’s daughter.
Thomann told the court police had decided Fleury would come to the police station and Thomann said that he would “trick him to come down.”
“I was going to make a phone call telling him I have a firearm for sale and wanted him to come look at it,” Thomann said.
The chief’s first attempt on Sept. 10, 2014, was unsuccessful. The following day, Thomann called again and told Fleury he had a firearm he wanted him to come look at that was for sale.
Thomann testified that Fleury said he would be right down and made no mention that he was preparing to go shooting and had guns out. Jacalyn Fleury’s testimony told a different story.
She testified that her husband had been taking guns out of the attic and placing them in the master bedroom in preparation for going to shoot on one of the three ranges on the couple’s 40-acre property. She said after taking the guns down, she saw him lock the attic door.
That is when Thomann called asking Edward Fleury to come down to the police station “right away,” Jacalyn Fleury said.
“Ed did not go right away,” she recalled.
She testified that her husband, who had the phone on speakerphone, told the chief he had guns out and needed to lock them up before he left. Fleury added that Thomann then asked her husband if she was home and when told she was said she could watch the guns because she had a license to carry.
When her husband left the house, Fleury said she stayed in the master bedroom to watch the guns and only left when the police were at the front door.
Jurors were shown pictures of keys Jacalyn Fleury said went to the gun cabinets, gun safes and the attic lock, as well as three different pictures of a black gun safe kept in a closet.
During cross-examination, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas showed pictures of the home’s kitchen and living room space, which appeared to show a rifle leaning up against a door frame.
Jacalyn Fleury testified she did not recall the rifle shown by Thomas.
At the beginning of the morning Massachusetts State Police ballistician Lt. John Crane resumed his testimony from Monday. Crane identified 21 guns removed from the residence. Crane helped analyze the seized guns and spent around an hour in court detailing the make, model and condition of each gun. All the weapons, Crane testified, were in working order and were considered high capacity guns, which meant magazines for the guns could hold more than 10 cartridges.
Massachusetts State Police ballistician Trooper Robert Paterson described the condition of a confiscated Smith and Wesson revolver he examined.
“It successfully test fired,” Paterson said. “It is a functioning firearm.”
Neither Crane nor Paterson were at Fleury’s home when police executed the search warrant.
The trial resumes Wednesday morning. The jury could likely begin deliberations later that day.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Sept. 20, 2017.