When Gillian Harper shot Roberto Clarke, he kept firing until his gun was empty, police say.

Clarke was hit three times in the back. The first bullet knocked him down, but Harper, police say, kept firing at the prone Clarke.

Harper turned himself in the next day. Police charged him with attempted murder, possession of a deadly weapon and first-degree assault.

Assistant Attorney General Marie John and Harper's attorney, Jeffrey Moorhead, struck a deal: Harper would plead to first-degree assault, which carried a possible 15-year prison term.

But Territorial Court Judge Maria Cabret didn't like the deal. She wanted him to get off even lighter.

Prosecutors say that she felt that because Harper claimed he had not intended to kill Clarke, the charges should be lowered to third-degree assault, which carries no more than five-years.

So Cabret rejected the plea and set a court date for trial.

Later, she reversed herself and accepted the plea.

Cabret, who has not returned numerous calls asking for her comments about her handling of this case, is part of a Territorial Court system that has been notably lenient in its sentencing.

Here is what a Daily News investigation has found:

• Territorial Court judges sent fewer than 32 percent of violent crime offenders to jail.
• They gave the other 68 percent suspended sentences, probation or community service.