ST. LOUIS, MO (May 19, 2025) —  Robert Harper, 43, was sentenced following a guilty plea on Monday to 10 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections for first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action for shooting his former girlfriend on January 19, 2023, in the 2900 block of California Avenue, in the City’s Benton Park West neighborhood.

Harper and the victim had been in a relationship for over a year. On the night of the assault, after a brief interaction outside her home, Harper exited his vehicle and shot the victim in the face with a semiautomatic firearm. She was transported to the hospital with a serious gunshot wound to her cheek and required stitches.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Circuit Attorney Carley Johansson and Special Victims Unit Supervisor Jeremy Crowley.

“Shooting someone in the face is an act of pure brutality. Robert Harper’s actions were calculated and cruel, and there must be consequences for violence like this,” said St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore.



Harper’s case number is 2322-CR00232-01.