A 45-year-old Southfield man was convicted on Tuesday, April 28, in the death of Melvindale Police Cpl. Mohamed Said.
Michael Lopez was found guilty by a jury on all 12 counts against him tied to the July 2024 death of 26-year-old Said, including first-degree murder of a police officer.
Lopez was accused of fatally shooting Said amid a foot chase in 2024. Officials said Said conducted a stop on Lopez near Oakwood Boulevard and Clarann Street in Melvindale, and Lopez then fled on foot.
A manhunt led to Lopez’s arrest following the shooting.
Beyond the murder charge, Lopez was found guilty of possessing both a firearm and ammunition as a felon, illegally carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, five counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of both methamphetamine/ ecstasy and cocaine under 25 grams.
The jury’s decision landed on the seventh day of the trial in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Bridget Mary Hathaway.
Lopez testified he was in fear for his life in the shooting incident, but prosecutors argued that Said tased him and said “taser” during the exchange, according to a report from ClickOnDetroit.
Video shown in court also indicated Said did not have a gun in his hand, according to the report.
Lopez previously served time in prison in connection with charges including a count of assaulting, resisting and obstructing, causing injury of a police officer. He was released from prison in 2022 and discharged from parole about a month before the fatal shooting, the Free Press previously reported.
Said has been memorialized with a local elementary school carrying his name.
Lopez is scheduled for sentencing on May 18.
Murder of a police officer, the heftiest of the charges for which Lopez was convicted, is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jury finds man guilty of murder in death of Melvindale policeman
Reporting by Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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