Ex-Upper Gwynedd cop sentenced for shooting incident

NORRISTOWN » A former Upper Gwynedd police officer avoided time behind bars but must serve house arrest and probation after he admitted he acted recklessly when he fired a gun into an occupied vehicle, placing the two occupants in danger of injury, during a confrontation outside his home.

Owen William Farmer III, 47, of the 1900 block of West Second Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to 12 months in the county’s intermediate punishment program, the first six months to be served under house arrest. That means Farmer will be permitted to leave his home only for court-approved purposes during the house arrest period.

“What you did, under all the circumstances, was a reckless act and could have had dire consequences,” Judge Richard P. Haaz addressed Farmer as he imposed the sentence.

Haaz also ordered Farmer to complete a total of three years’ probation, meaning Farmer will be under court supervision for a total of four years. Farmer, who worked as a patrol officer in Upper Gwynedd from December 2000 until February 2009, also must complete 125 hours of community service and an anger management counseling program and will not be

permitted to possess firearms.

Before the judge imposed the punishment, one of the victims, a woman who was driving the vehicle that Farmer fired shots at, expressed that she did not want to see Farmer go to jail.

In June, Farmer pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person in connection with the Feb. 18, 2017, incident that allegedly began when Farmer’s stepdaughter, who was driving a Ford Escape SUV, was involved in a roadrage-type incident with the driver of a BMW SUV and the confrontation spilled over onto the driveway of Farmer’s home.

A 15-year-old girl who was in the BMW suffered a minor injury when she was struck in the back by a bullet fired by Farmer but it did not penetrate her body, according to testimony. Farmer’s foot was run over by the vehicle during the confrontation.

“I shot to stop the vehicle. I wasn’t aiming at anyone. My intention was to get that vehicle to stop because I believed my daughter was under it,” Farmer told the judge, adding he was sorry the teenager was injured.

Defense lawyer Paul W. Tressler, who is a retired county judge, argued for a house arrest or probationary sentence for Farmer, citing his exemplary military and police career. Testimony revealed Farmer is a U.S. Army veteran and a former sheriff’s deputy who went on to be awarded for “heroism” and “bravery” during investigations as an Upper Gwynedd police officer.

“He is protective. He was protecting his daughter. This wasn’t fired in anger. I think his military history is important. He’s a hero. He’s got awards,” Tressler argued.

Tressler argued Farmer is remorseful but acted to defend his stepdaughter because he reasonably thought she could be killed during the incident.

But Assistant District Attorney Roderick Fancher, while acknowledging Farmer’s exemplary law enforcement career, argued for a prison sentence against Farmer, maintaining Farmer acted out of anger.

“He’s done a lot of good things in his life. But on the night of Feb. 18, 2017, Owen Farmer did a bad thing. The way he acted that day was unjustified and he put a lot of people at risk. He was not acting in accordance with his training,” argued Fancher, doubting Farmer’s claim that he was trying to protect his stepdaughter.

“He was pissed. He got his foot run over, that’s why he shot the car. A 15-yearold girl got shot in the back because he didn’t care what he was shooting at,” Fancher added.

More serious charges of aggravated and simple assault were dismissed against Farmer in exchange for his guilty plea to the reckless endangerment charges.

An investigation began about 9:54 p.m. Feb. 18 when Upper Gwynedd police responded to Farmer’s home for a report of a disturbance involving a person struck by a vehicle and the discharge of a firearm.

Arriving police found Farmer sitting in the road outside his home and holding a .40-caliber Glock 23 pistol, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators found three .40-caliber shell casings and broken glass on the roadway.

Farmer was transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of a broken foot, court documents state.

Around 10:15 p.m. a 15-year-old gunshot victim arrived at an area hospital and the investigation revealed that the girl had been riding in the front passenger seat of a BMW SUV when she was struck in the back by a single bullet. She was treated and released, according to court documents.

During the subsequent investigation, Farmer’s 20-year-old stepdaughter told police that she made an obscene gesture to the occupants of a BMW during a traffic dispute on North Wales Road in Montgomery Township. She said the BMW then followed her through North Wales as she drove home, so she called Farmer and told him she was being followed and that he needed to come outside with his gun, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

When the woman pulled into the driveway of Farmer’s residence, Farmer ran outside and toward the BMW saying, “What the [expletive]?” to the driver, according to court papers filed by Upper Gwynedd Detective Sgt. Theodore Caiola and county Detective John Wittenberger.

Farmer was at the rear of the BMW when it backed up, and he shouted, “She ran over my foot,” then fired three gunshots at the BMW as it drove away, reported his stepdaughter, who was a few feet away from Farmer when he fired the weapon, according to court documents.

The driver of the BMW told detectives she had been driving to her home in Lansdale with her daughter in the SUV when another vehicle began tailgating her and the driver made an obscene gesture, so she followed the vehicle until it pulled into a driveway and a man and woman approached her and began banging on the BMW’s windows, according to court documents.

The woman said she turned the BMW around to leave the area when she saw the man had a gun, then heard glass shatter in the rear of her vehicle and immediately drove to the hospital when her daughter started complaining of pain, according to the arrest affidavit.

“He destroyed my safety and my security,” the woman said during emotional testimony on Thursday, adding she now fears police.

The woman’s daughter testified she had forgiven Farmer but still suffers anxiety and has needed counseling as a result of the incident.

Investigators recovered three fired projectiles from inside the BMW. The projectile that struck the girl entered through the back window and traveled through the center headrest of the rear seat and through the top of the front passenger seat, court documents indicate.