Antione Lemar Harper

On October 30, 2024, at approximately 10:24 A.M., police officers responded to a report of a protective order violation at an address in Burnsville, Dakota County, Minnesota. The reporting party (hereinafter “Witness 1”) stated that she had a protective order against a male (hereinafter “Witness 2”) and Witness 2 was arguing with her boyfriend, ANTIONE LEMAR HARPER [DOB REDACTED]. Witness 1 mentioned having a firearm on her person. Police dispatch received a second call about the incident where the caller (hereinafter “Witness 3”) stated they heard a single gunshot.

Upon arrival, police officers spoke with HARPER who stated that Witness 2 had a firearm, and he had fired one shot into the air. Police officers then spoke with Witness 1 who stated that Witness 2 had been violating a protective order and she saw him walking by her residence. Thereafter, Witness 1 and HARPER went to confront Witness 2. Witness 1 claimed that Witness 2 fired a single shot. A police officer patted down Witness 1 and found a gun in her pant pocket. Witness 1 claimed possession of the gun and had a valid permit to carry a firearm.

HARPER left the scene claiming he had a medical appointment. HARPER instructed Witness 1 to not speak with law enforcement further. A police officer located and collected a spent cartridge casing at the scene. The casing matched the remaining live ammunition in Witness 1’s gun. A police officer confronted Witness 1 with the matching casing/ammunition, and Witness 1 admitted to firing off one round to scare Witness 2 because she thought Witness 2 was going to assault HARPER. Witness 1 later changed her story again and stated that she did not fire the gun.

Rather, HARPER had fired the gun. Witness 1 refused to have her hands swabbed for gun powder residue. A police officer then spoke with Witness 3. Witness 3 stated that he was in his home when he heard a single gunshot. Witness 3 then looked outside and saw HARPER in possession of a handgun. Witness 3 did not see Witness 2 with a gun. Later, a police officer spoke with Witness 2. Witness 2 admitted to being approximately one block away from Witness 1’s residence during the incident. Witness 2 reported that HARPER had assaulted him by “pistol-whipping” him before discharging a round in the air and threatening to kill him.

Later, a police officer followed up with HARPER by telephone. HARPER was reluctant and initially 2 19HA-CR-26-421 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 3/26/2026 deferred to Witness 1 for any further information. HARPER stated, “she had to do what ever she had to do.” When asked if his DNA would be found on the gun, HARPER indicated it probably would be, but he maintained that he did not have the gun during the incident. On October 31, 2026, was arrested at his residence in Golden Valley. At the time of the arrest, HARPER had a round of 9mm ammunition in his pocket.

During transport to jail, HARPER made comments about how he could not be charged with felon in possession when he was not found with a firearm. HARPER declined to provide a formal statement. A detective applied for and received a search warrant for a sample of HARPER’s DNA. The detective executed the search warrant and obtained a buccal swab from HARPER. The detective submitted the DNA sample to the BCA for comparison with swabs from the gun. The detective also submitted the spent cartridge casing for ballistics testing.