WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the man accused of killing a Melvindale police officer.
On April 28, after less than three hours of deliberation, the jury found Michael Lopez guilty of the murder of Melvindale Police Officer Mohamed Said.
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Lopez was found guilty of all charges.
He was charged with the following in the case:
- Murder of a police officer
- Felon in possession of a firearm
- Felon in possession of ammunition
- Carrying a concealed weapon
- Possession of methamphetamine/ecstasy
- Possession of under 25 grams of a controlled substance
- Carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent
- Five felony firearm violations
Lopez claimed he shot and killed Said in self-defense, saying he had to in order “to survive, to not get killed.”
The trial lasted about a week, during which Lopez had a few outbursts in court. This led to Lopez being removed from the courtroom as the trial continued and having his testimony abruptly end for the day on Monday.
He also expressed that he was uncomfortable around police, resulting in his demeanor towards Said and running away from him. Prosecutors argued Lopez ran away because he didn’t want to get caught for an armed robbery incident that happened the day before the officer’s murder.
Lopez admitted to robbing an Autozone during his testimony, but denied that it was the reason he ran away from police.
Lopez also testified that he thought he was shot in the back, which led to him believing his life was in danger -- resulting in him fatally shooting Said with the weapon he used in the armed robbery. He also believed Said pointed a gun at him.
Prosecutors countered that claim, saying Lopez was actually tased and Said could be heard saying “taser, taser, taser” before deploying the taser on Lopez. Lopez claimed he did not know he was tased, but later said he knew what being tased felt like in his testimony. Footage shown in court also proved that Said was not pointing a gun at Lopez before he was shot.
Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 18 at 9 a.m.
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