Former City Police Officer Facing 35 Years For Shooting Incident

A former Baltimore City police officer is facing up to 35 years in prison if he is convicted of shooting a man who was allegedly trespassing, court records show.

Richard Michael Heymann, 42, was officially charged Wednesday with first- and second-degree assault. He has since been released on $75,000 bond.

Heymann, of the 3000 block of Hillsdale Court in Abingdon, MD, was found by police Tuesday morning tending to a man’s gunshot wounds in the 300 block of West Stablers Church Road in Parkton, MD, in northern Baltimore County.

A woman who owned the property called police after hearing a gun shot fired in the wooded area near her home. When police arrived shortly after 9 a.m., they found Pennsylvania man Christopher Kinne on the ground with an apparent bullet wound to his right thigh.

Kinne was rushed by ground to York (PA) Hospital Shock Trauma with serious injuries. Plans to fly Kinne to the hospital were cancelled due to weather, according to Baltimore County police.

Heymann, who worked as a Baltimore City police officer in the 1990s, told the responding officers that he and a friend were hunting in the woods when they came across Kinne, dressed in camouflage and armed with a shotgun, according to court documents. Heymann advised police that he believed Kinne was illegally hunting on his friend’s property.

Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said Tuesday that Kinne was carrying a shotgun, although it was unloaded at the time.

The friend who was hunting alongside Heymann called the Department of Natural Resources police and Baltimore County police to notify them of the alleged illegal hunting and trespassing. Heymann told Kinne that police were on their way. Kinne then reportedly attempted to leave prior to officers arriving.

"Upon Richard Heymann stating repeatedly to stay at the location to await police arrival, Christopher Kinne continuted to state that he was not staying and attempted to walk toward Richard Heymann," according to the incident report.

Heymann told Kinne that he was going to fire a warning shot at the ground near Kinne’s feet. Kinne continued to walk toward Heymann, who fired a single shot striking Kinne in the leg. Heymann told police that as soon as he realized Kinne was injured he immediately began performing first aid, according to court records.

Heymann was charged with first and second degree assault, which carry 25- and 10-year maximum prison sentences, respectively. Heymann worked for the Baltimore (City) Police Department and he "separated from the agency," in 1998 under unknown circumstances, according to a city police spokesman.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Heymann in Baltimore County District Court at 8:30 a.m on Dec. 21.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated the shooting occurred on Monday when in fact it happened Tuesday. Patch regrets the error.