HdG Man Arraigned in Officer Shooting

BEL AIR, MD — The Havre de Grace man charged with attempted murder in the shooting of an Aberdeen police officer was arraigned Monday.

Tyler S. Testerman, 21, of the 800 block of Tydings Road, is charged in the shooting of an Aberdeen policeman.

Police said Officer Jason Easton was speaking in the backyard with someone who reported a threat in the 500 block of Ohio Court when a shot was fired from the tree line after 2 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2015.

Easton was shot in the face and flown to shock trauma, where police said he was operated on for a wound that left projectiles in his eye.

Officer Easton will undergo another surgery on Jan. 8, according to a donation page set up to assist his family.

Since the day of the shooting, Testerman has been held at the Harford County Detention Center without bail, court records show.

At his arraignment on Monday afternoon, Testerman reportedly did not have a lawyer and said his family was trying to get money to hire one.

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The judge told Testerman that a public defender was available to him and if he does not opt to have a lawyer when the case goes to trial, the court will presume he has waived his right to legal counsel and is representing himself, according to The Aegis, which reported the judge noted he was facing “serious charges.”

Court records show Testerman has been indicted on the following 13 charges: conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, second-degree assault on a police officer, two counts of using a firearm to commit a felony, reckless endangerment and possessing a rifle/shotgun while having a mental disorder.

He did not enter a plea during the arraignment, according to The Aegis, which reported he previously had a public defender representing him at a bail review hearing and was planning to hire private counsel.

A trial date has not yet been set.

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Photo courtesy of the Aberdeen Police Department.