ST. LOUIS, MO (April 26 , 2024) — Desmond Harris, 23, was sentenced by Judge Michael W. Noble this week to 50 years in prison for shooting Mikhail Binion, 37, on June 3, 2022, in the 5000 block of Kensington Avenue in the City’s Academy neighborhood.

Binion had come home from work around midnight and saw the car of his ex-girlfriend, Barbara Taylor, 34, parked in front of his apartment with the tailgate open and belongings inside. The front door of his apartment was ajar and Taylor was inside. As he approached the door, Harris emerged from the darkness holding a 9 mm pistol and demanded that Binion give him his wallet and the keys to his car. Harris and another individual who has not been identified then fired a total of 13 shots into Binion’s lower body, got into Binion’s car and drove away. Harris and Taylor are cousins.

A week later, Binion was watching local television news and recognized a photograph of Harris, who had been arrested for an attempted carjacking in the Fairground neighborhood on June 10, 2022, during which a one-year-old child was shot in the back of head. The child survived, but suffered brain damage. Harris was found not guilty in that incident.

Binion contacted police and identified Harris in a photo line-up as one of the men who had shot him. Binion has suffered extensive nerve damage to his left leg, requiring multiple surgeries.

In February, a jury found Harris guilty of first-degree robbery, two counts of armed criminal action, and first-degree assault. Judge Noble sentenced him to serve the sentences for each count consecutively.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorneys Bret M. Rich and Michael Ware.

“A young man who chose the path of violence will now likely spend the rest of his life in prison,” said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore. “Our prosecution team did an outstanding job on this case and our community is safer for their efforts.”



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