Second assailant in Aberdeen police officer shooting to serve less than five years in prison

An Abingdon man who pleaded guilty to being an accomplice in the shooting and serious wounding of an Aberdeen Police Department officer in December was sentenced earlier this month to spend less than five years in prison for his role in the crime.Scott Patrick Lawrence, 27, received concurrent sentences of 25 years and five years for his guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and accessory after the fact to attempted first-degree murder, respectively, according to court records. Harford County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Mahoney suspended the 25 years on the first conviction but also imposed five years of supervised probation upon release.At the time of the sentencing on July 11, Lawrence had spent 219 days in jail and will be credited for that time toward the five years he received for the conspiracy conviction, according to court records.A 10-year veteran of the Aberdeen Police Department was shot in the face early Friday morning while responding to a call on Ohio Court, and a suspect was taken into custody several hours later, an Aberdeen Police sergeant said.Lawrence pleaded guilty to the two charges on April 15. In exchange, prosecutors did not pursue several other charges, including conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and use of a firearm in a felony/violent crime.Lawrence and Tyler Testerman, 21, of Aberdeen, were accused of shooting Aberdeen Officer Jason Easton when he went to investigate a threat against an Aberdeen resident early on the morning of Dec. 4, 2014.As the officer, a 10-year-veteran, and the resident stood outside the latter's home on 500 block of Ohio Street, Easton was shot in the face and upper torso by a shotgun fired from a wood line at both men by Testerman, police and prosecutors said. The officer suffered an eye injury and has been unable to return to full duty, according to APD.Testerman pleaded guilty on June 27 to attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced by Harford Circuit Judge Angela Eaves to 78 years in prison, with 37 years suspended and 41 years to be served in Maryland Department of Corrections. Eaves also ordered that the first five years must be served.Lawrence pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Testerman, the shooter, Harford County State's Attorney Joseph Cassilly said Thursday.&quot;His original information that he gave us helped a lot in putting the case together,&quot; Cassilly said.Lawrence will serve his five-year sentence in the state prison system, the prosecutor pointed out.&quot;It's important that the victim, the police officer that was shot, was consulted on this and they were satisfied with the outcome,&quot; Cassilly said when asked if he was satisfied with the result of the case. &quot;I think that's the most important person that we are looking at.&quot;Carl Schlaich, the Bel Air attorney who represented Lawrence, said Thursday that he did not want to comment about the case.Police and prosecutors said Testerman and the Ohio Street resident had been arguing over text messages and that Testerman had threatened to blow up the man's trailer home. Testerman and Lawrence then drove to the Ohio Street address, where Lawrence banged on the door with a pipe and Testerman stood by with a shotgun.When the resident didn't come out, the two men began to leave about the time Easton arrived to investigate, prosecutors said. The shooting followed as the officer and complainant stood outside.Testerman was arrested at an Edgewood apartment a few hours following the shooting. The shotgun used in the shooting was found at an address in Perryman where Lawrence was arrested the same day.Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Trabert said the State's Attorney's Office did a &quot;tremendous job&quot; of handling of the case, both for building a solid case against the defendants and for keeping Easton informed throughout the prosecutions.&quot;Jason [Easton] was made aware of all agreements that were made by the State's Attorney's Office,&quot; Trabert said.Trabert said Easton is &quot;okay&quot; with the outcome, and &quot;if Jason is okay with it, then we're okay with it.&quot;He said Easton is still going through testing and evaluation for his injury, but he has been showing up at all police community events and city events.He said Easton's wife has been caring for him and giving regular updates to police and city officials.&quot;We are hoping everything will turn out very well, and he will come back to work and continue his profession as a police officer with the Aberdeen Police Department,&quot; Trabert said.The chief said Easton did &quot;a magnificent job&quot; when the shooting happened, protecting the complainant even after the officer had been shot.&quot;After he was shot he still protected the complainant on that call, and as far as I'm concerned, saved that gentleman from grave injury or death,&quot; Trabert said.

Second assailant in Aberdeen police officer shooting to serve less than five years in prison

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