Thomas E. Harris, 32, of Festus has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing 26-year-old Dion Robinson in 2015.
Jefferson County Div. 2 Circuit Judge Darrell Missey handed down the sentence on Tuesday (Feb. 28).
Robinson died of a gunshot wound Feb. 18, 2015, outside of his De Soto home.
A jury convicted Harris in November 2016 of one count of second-degree murder, a class A felony; one count of armed criminal action, an unclassified felony; and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, each one a class C felony.
Missey sentenced Thomas to 25 years for the second-degree murder charge, 20 years for the armed criminal action charge and 10 years each for the unlawful possession of handgun charges. However, all the sentences are to run concurrently, or at the same time.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Forrest Wegge said the sentencing was appropriate.
“(The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office) is very, very pleased,” Wegge said. “This was a senseless homicide. I commend the jury and the court for holding the defendant accountable.”
Catherine Robertson, the assistant prosecuting attorney who handled the case, agreed.
“I think that no number of years is going to bring back the life that was taken,” she said. “But, given the facts of the case and the defendant’s armed criminal history, I think the court’s sentences are justified.”
At 12:45 a.m. Feb. 18, 2015, Harris and Robinson were having a dispute in the 800 block of Blow Street outside Robinson’s home and Harris fired two shots from a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun at Robinson. One struck Robinson on the left side of his body at waist level and exited on his right side at the waist, according to the probable-cause sentence in the case, a Leader account at the time and information from the trial.
De Soto Police arrived at the scene and found Robinson lying on the ground behind the home and officers began CPR, but Valle Ambulance personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.
Harris left the scene, but police tracked his cell phone and located him later that morning at a hotel off Meramec Bottom Road in south St. Louis County and took him into custody.
Harris claimed self-defense during the trial. His attorney did not return a phone call for comment.
Harris was being held at the Jefferson County Jail this morning (March 3) awaiting transfer to state prison.