The remainder of the charges were dismissed in exchange for the plea.
On Tuesday, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Dan Haughey sentenced Harris to an indefinite prison sentence of nine to 12 years in prison. She faced a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
The young victim, Myra, who is recovering but is left with many physical challenges, was in the courtroom for sentencing. Harris turned to smile at the baby several times when her granddaughter cooed loudly from the back row.
Harris shot the baby, then 6-months old, shortly before 2 a.m. Dec. 9 at Lakota Pointe Townhomes on Dutchview Court. The two charges dismissed were in connection with alleged assaults on two other family members in the house.
The mother of four had no previous criminal record. She gave no statement in court but sent letter to the judge and has accepted responsibility for her crimes since her arrest, according to her attorney, David Albrecht.
“Everyone has their ups and downs,” Albrecht said. “She snapped, call it a break down, call it a mental breakdown — she just snapped.”
Myra’s mother Destiny Buffington, who was in the house when the shooting happened, showed the judge her daughter’s tiny socks and gown she wore during weeks in the intensive care unit.
“I just what you to know you changed Myra’s forever,” Buffington said. Her daughter will continue to have seizures for the rest of life, has had three surgeries and may have to have more and is in therapy for paralysis.
Buffington said Harris called her a demon, stood over her with a gun and “I had to plead for my life and you shot my daughter in front of me.”
“I don’t know why you did it,” Buffington said. “I want you to pray for forgiveness.”
Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Kraig Chadrick said while the defense terms her action as “she snapped,” what changed in the days leading up to the shooting was Harris’ ramped up substance abuse.
Chadrick said Harris said told officials she “got marijuana from a different dealer and started using it more frequently.”
“What happened that night is the result of her substance abuse. She was smoking marijuana more often and one of the side effects of that is paranoia,” Chadrick said, noting that is something to he considered Harris’ recidivism factors.
Harris was examined three times by forensic psychologists while the case was pending and was found no to have a criteria for severe mental health disorder.
Before sentencing, Haughey said “the hand of God” is the reason why Myra is still alive.
The Butler County Sheriff’s Office investigation and court documents indicate Harris struck a person in the face with her fist and “broke down a locked bedroom door after firing a handgun through the bedroom door multiple times.”
Harris assaulted another person by trying to shoot them in the head at close range, “but missed,” then shot the child in the head while the baby was lying on a bed, according to the complaints.
Then there was a tussle in the bedroom and Harris dropped the 9-millimeter Ruger, which was discovered under the bed, according to sheriff’s office detectives.
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