The Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce charges against a homeless man initially facing third-degree arson charges in Bartow Superior Court last week.
As part of a negotiated plea deal, defendant Roscoe Benny Sharpe, Jr., was ultimately sentenced to 12 months on probation with 151 days to serve in the Bartow County Jail for the misdemeanor count of improper burning.
Sharpe did receive credit for time served dating back to Oct. 16, 2019, essentially releasing him from custody at the Bartow County Jail.
According to Cherokee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Austin Waldo, the defendant started a fire on a field adjacent to Georgia Highlands College on Oct. 2.
“There was property that the arson investigator found belonging to the defendant,” he said. “That was really about it, as far as the investigation.”