The judge presiding over the Peabody District Court bench trial of a Beverly Police officer charged with motor vehicle homicide today found STUART MERRY guilty of that charge, sentenced him to three years supervised probation, and ordered that his license be suspended for 15 years, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

In addition to the probation and loss of license, Judge Matthew Nestor further ordered that Merry, 42, complete 200 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.

Merry had been convicted of the same charge by a Peabody District Court jury on March 20, 2008, and was subsequently sentenced; however, in April of that year, a second trial was deemed necessary after the discovery of potentially exculpatory evidence that became known to prosecutors after the conclusion of the first trial. Prosecutors turned over that information and assented to a second trial, but objected to defense efforts to dismiss the case outright. The defense brought the matter to the Supreme Judicial Court in April, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict Merry. The court rejected the defense’s contention and refused to dismiss the case.

Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Walsh proved that Merry was driving his marked cruiser at about 55 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone and crossed the double yellow lines when he crashed into 61-year-old Bonney Burns’ parked car as she sat inside. The force of the impact drove Burns’ vehicle up onto the sidewalk in front of her Cabot Street home, killing her.

“We are satisfied with the judge’s decision in this heartbreaking case.” Conley said. “This verdict will not undo the pain that the friends and family of Bonney Burns have suffered as a result of another person’s extreme negligence behind the wheel of a vehicle.”

Though Burns was killed in Essex County, Suffolk prosecutors handled the case against Merry to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, as he is a member of the local law enforcement community.

Merry was represented by attorney Neil Rossman.