St. Louis-area officer sentenced for shooting into car

CLAYTON, Mo. -- A suburban St. Louis police officer who shot into a fleeing car, seriously injuring the driver, has been sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to give up his police officer's license.

Christopher Gage, 40, was sentenced Wednesday for the shooting in February 2020 when he was a Velda City officer, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

As part of the plea deal, original charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action were reduced to a lesser felony of unlawful use of a weapon.

Gage's partner on duty, officer Matthew Schanz, was also charged with first-degree assault. His case is pending.

Gage's attorneys, Gabe Crocker and Peter Bruntrager, said in a statement that resolving the case allows Gage "to move on to the next chapters of his life."

Prosecutors said Gage and Schanz stopped a driver for expired temporary tags.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said in a 2020 news conference announcing the charges that the driver drove off when officers found marijuana in the car.

The 37-year-old driver was hit by shots fired by the officers, causing him to crash. He was seriously injured but recovered.