A Butler County judge Tuesday sentenced a 72-year-old Portersville man to at least 10 years in prison for attempted criminal homicide.

Judge William Shaffer also determined that Paul Harper is severely mentally ill, a designation that will help Harper receive mental health treatment during his prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.

Harper pleaded guilty in March to shooting at Christopher Galbreath in early July 2017 over the sale of a car. He has remained in Butler County Prison since his arrest on July 4, 2017.

“I never imagined someone would try to take my life over nothing,” Galbreath said in court. “I can't put into words the pain and suffering of my family and friends caused by this man.”

Galbreath and his wife proceeded to explain the fallout and destruction caused by Harper in 2017. On the night of July 3, 2017, Galbreath and his wife, Debra, were sitting on the couch when Harper used a shotgun to blow out the glass doors of the Galbreath home.

Harper went inside and shot Christopher Galbreath in the arm. Christopher Galbreath said that Harper actually aimed for his chest but Christopher, relying on his military training, turned his right side to Harper's shotgun, thus preventing a more serious chest wound. Galbreath was transported to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

“Every time I look at my wife I will see the terror in her face when the bell rings,” Galbreath said. Often at night, he said, a sound will wake his wife up and he has to walk around the property grounds armed with a gun to assuage her fears.

“I regret not taking (Harper's) life that night,” Christopher Galbreath said. “All over a car, unbelievable.”

The couple said that Harper's actions against them were completely unprovoked.

“It was unfathomable to think someone could come to our home, blow out two glass doors and try to kill me and my husband,” Debra Galbreath said.

She recalled hearing something like a knock while they were sitting on their couch. When Harper came crashing into their home, Debra reached for her handgun but by then Harper was already shooting at them.

“I no longer stare at the stars while walking my dog,” Debra Galbreath said, adding that she was angry that Harper had done this for no reason. “This man took my calmness and peace.”

Tuesday's sentencing opened with testimony from forensic psychologist Bruce Chambers, who was hired by the defense team to diagnose Harper earlier this year.

Chambers testified that Harper hadn't received any mental health treatment during his time at the county jail, causing his mental state to regress to the point of being severely mentally ill. The designation, under the state's law, affords Harper a number of mental health treatments.

Based on Chambers' previous report, Shaffer concluded at the time of the shooting, “the defendant, as a result of a mental defect, lacked the substantial ability to conform his conduct to the law.”

Harper's lawyer, Laurel Gift, requested in June that Shaffer change his client's guilty plea to guilty but mentally ill, which the judge accepted.

When Harper was first sent to jail, he went on a hunger strike in an attempt to end his life, according to Chambers.

The plea deal reached between prosecutors and the defense didn't specify a length for Harper's punishment, leaving Shaffer to make the decision based on standard sentencing guidelines.

On Tuesday, Shaffer noted that the range for the crime spans 20 to 40 years.

“Which seems absurd to me, cause you're 72-years-old,” Shaffer said. “I don't think either one of us would make it through that sentence.”

Shaffer said that such a sentence would ultimately equate to a life sentence “and I don't see much option but to give you that.”

Shaffer also sentenced Harper to pay two restitution orders. One is in the amount of $1,407 to the family and the other order calls for more than $24,000 to be paid out to the victims' insurance.

Afterward, Christopher Galbreath said he was satisfied with the sentence and was happy for the case to be over after more than two and half years.

“I think the sentence fits the crime, which is about all you can wish for with our system,” he said. “We just wanted to make sure he doesn't get out. ”