Paris, Tenn.–A Paris man termed a career offender by the judge and prosecutor was sentenced to 18 years in prison on a variety of charges.
Michael Anthony Tharpe, age 49, of 610 Depot St., was sentenced Friday by Henry County Circuit Court Judge Donald Parish at the conclusion of a bench trial (a trial in which there is no jury).
Tharpe was found guilty of a long list of charges, including coercion of a witness, assault on an officer, theft, burglary of a vehicle, retaliation of past action, and evading arrest. Tharpe was found not guilty of escape and aggravated burglary.
Both Judge Parish concluded Tharpe was a career offender, which he also was termed by Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Griffey. Griffey noted Tharpe’s lengthy criminal history, beginning when he was a teenager.