Man pleads guilty in 2019 Christmas standoff
Despondent over a fight with his girlfriend and off his mental health medication, Tyler L. Hartenstine held Allentown police at bay for five hours last Christmas, firing shots out his apartment windowwhile threatening suicide.
A police officer ended the standoff by shooting Hartenstine in the shoulder as he leaned out a window, gun in hand.
In a Lehigh County courtroom Tuesday, Hartenstine, 25, nowof Coopersburg, promised to take his mental health treatment seriously so that he can be a better father to his 18-month-old son.
“What happened, I’m very sorry about. I’m sorry to the officers and everybody involved, and I’m trying to take every right step so someday I can look at my son and say, ‘Dadmadeamistake, but this is what Dad did to right it.’ ”
Hartenstine pleaded guilty before Judge Douglas G. Reichley to five counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to time served to 24 months in the county jail, followed by two years of probation.
Hartenstine, whoserved eight months in jail before being transferred to a mental health facility in August, was granted immediate parole. The sentence was the result of a plea bargain.
Police responded to Hartenstine’s home on the 700 block of North MeadowStreet just before 11 p.m. last Christmas after getting a call from one of Hartenstine’s friends, whowas worried that he was suicidal. Officers and neighbors heard what sounded like gunshots in the apartment, and Hartenstine yelled to officers that he had barricaded the door and would not come out.
As the hours wore on, Hartenstine’s friend arrived and persuaded him to talk to police via FaceTime. Hartenstine told police he was going to make officers shoot and kill him, that he had “1,400 rounds of ammunition” in the apartment because he is “an avid hunter,” according to court records.
Hartenstine fired multiple gunshots from his window into woods near the building and then at the sidewalk near where officers were standing, First Assistant District Attorney Steve Luksa told the judge. When Hartenstine leaned out the window, an officer shot him.
The standoff resulted in some evacuations of nearby residences, with other residents instructed to shelter in place. Hartenstine surrendered to police around 4:30 a.m.
In court Tuesday, defense attorney Thomas Joachim told the judge that Hartenstine has suffered with mental illness since he was 16, and has struggled with staying on medication due to side effects. Since his arrest, Hartenstine has complied with all doctors’ recommendations and has sought out extra counseling when he felt he needed it, Joachim said.
“I think one of the best indicators of his progress is that he’s learned to become an advocate for himself,” Joachim said.
Luksa said he was comfortable with Hartenstine’s avoiding additional jail time, saying he did not want to disrupt his ongoing mental health treatment.
As conditions of the sentence, Hartenstine must stay on his medication and may not possess any firearms. The three guns that were taken from his home following the standoff will be destroyed, Luksa said.
Judge Reichley urged Hartenstine to seek help when he’s struggling, and not be embarrassed.
“We’ve got to get to a more understanding level in society of mental health issues and not make people think they need to be ashamed or that there’s some stigma associated with that,” Reichley said.