NORTHAMPTON — A calm and collected Edward Fleury, former Pelham police chief, took the stand in his own trial Thursday and told the jury that he meant no harm when he trained his handgun, with its Crimson Trace laser, on a longtime friend outside a Belchertown bar in August 2014.
“I told him I was going to demonstrate something for him that is made to make a person who is making a deadly force advance to try and reduce that threat,” Fleury said.
The friend, Peter Terapulsky, testified earlier in the trial that, while he wasn’t immediately bothered, he became increasingly anxious after the event.
About five weeks after the alleged incident, on Sept. 11, 2014, police said they uncovered more than 200 guns in Fleury’s home while executing a search warrant, “dozens” of which were unlocked or unsecured. Authorities were searching for the weapon allegedly involved in the incident between the two men.
At the home, police said, many weapons 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.
Their findings, coupled with the alleged incident outside the VFW, resulted in Fleury facing a barrage of charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon, at least 21 counts of improper storage of a large-capacity firearm, and six counts of improper storage of a firearm. He’s pleaded not guilty to all charges in Hampshire Superior Court.
Before the former police chief took the stand Thursday, Judge Mark Mason dismissed three of the six weapons charges.
Fleury’s attorney, Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross, had argued that there was “no evidence whatsoever” to suggest that the weapons relating to those charges were stored improperly. The three firearms related to those charges were retrieved from an attic space in Fleury’s home. Prosecutors, who rested their case late Thursday morning, did not offer any witnesses who could testify as to where in the attic the weapons were found.
In this trial, taking into consideration Mason’s ruling, Fleury now faces just two counts of improper storage as well as assault with a dangerous weapon. Another trial, addressing the other charges, is expected to begin later this year.
In his testimony, Fleury said he met Terapulsky for drinks on Aug. 2, 2014, at the Belchertown VFW post to discuss a joint business venture “involving firearm safety” training for civilians.
The two had been discussing de-escalation techniques, Fleury said, adding that he was only demonstrating what they were talking about when he took aim at Terapulsky.
Prior to stepping outside, the defendant said, “I was talking about a particular kind of training scenario with him involving lasers.”
“Before you showed the de-escalation technique to Mr. Terapulsky, did you tell him what you were going to do?” asked Rodriguez-Ross.
“I did,” Fleury said. “I told him, ‘hey, I’m going to do it.’”
That’s when he drew his gun and trained the laser on Terapulsky’s chest, for “two or three seconds,” adding that he “didn’t want to draw a lot of attention.”
“You see how effective it would be?” Fleury recalled asking Terapulsky after drawing the gun.
Fleury 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.
The latest trial will continue Friday and is expected to begin with cross examination of Fleury by Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Matthew Thomas.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.