After taking over one day to select a jury, the trial of a 22-year-old Prince George’s County man charged with shooting and critically wounding a sheriff’s deputy in December 2022 began Tuesday in Calvert County Circuit Court.
On Wednesday, Deputy James Flynt, the officer who was shot in the femoral artery, allegedly by defendant Brandon Alexander Turner, testified in court, recounting the events leading up to the incident.
“Those injuries were life-threatening,” Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert H. Harvey Jr. (R) told the jury during opening statements.
The shooting incident occurred in the Walnut Creek subdivision of Huntingtown on Dec. 17, 2022, during the early evening hours after Turner, driving a white Kia, fled a traffic stop in Dunkirk, leading Flynt and two other deputies on a high-speed chase down Route 4. Turner allegedly fired shots at the pursuing officers during the incident.
Turner was also shot during the during confrontation with the deputies, which occurred after Flynt, employing a precision immobilization technique maneuver, brought the Kia to a halt.
According to a sheriff’s office report, Turner exited the vehicle and allegedly fired additional rounds at the officers.
Flynt was wearing a body camera at the time of the pursuit and shooting and had also activated a dashboard camera in his marked sheriff’s office vehicle, capturing the drama, which was played for the jury during the deputy’s testimony.
After the defendant’s Kia spun and hit a guardrail, Flynt said he exited his vehicle and drew his gun. He recalled being shot and shouting, “I’m hit. 911 hit.”
After self applying a tourniquet to his wound, Flynt said he “asked for an ambulance and passed out.”
When called as the state’s first witness, Flynt, who returned to limited duty back in late February, walked into the courtroom. Toward the end of his testimony, Flynt noted that after being shot he was in the hospital for three weeks, calling the injury “pretty extensive” and affirming he is “not back to normal.”
The two other officers — Deputy Tyler Bowen, who made the initial traffic stop on the Kia, and Deputy Anthony Aranda, who responded to the stop to provide backup — also testified Wednesday morning.
Police apprehended the Kia’s female passenger, who was not charged.
A wounded Turner was apprehended in the subdivision after initially fleeing the scene of the shootout.
Prior to providing the jury with instructions, Judge Andrew Rappaport denied a request from Turner’s lawyers to allow his father to remain in the courtroom while the prosecution presented its case but still be allowed to testify during the defense’s case.
The elder Turner opted to leave the courtroom.
Turner was served a 31-count indictment one month after the incident. The indictment includes three counts each of first- and second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault, numerous firearms violations, reckless endangerment, and fleeing and eluding.
The trial is expected to last 10 days.
Turner is being represented by public defenders Michele A. Harewood and Caitlin Jane Lomazzo. In addition to Harvey, Timothy J. Maher, Calvert’s deputy state’s attorney, is handling the prosecution.
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