Judge sentences woman to 18 years in prison
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 22, 2016
Circuit Judge Lex Short sentenced an Opp woman to 18 years in prison this week.
Tanya Davis, 32, of Opp was convicted of hindering prosecution I in January 2016.
The offense is a class C felony and court records show that Davis had four prior felony convictions.
The conviction stems from an August 2014 incident in which Davis instigated a fight between her husband, Tacomas James, and another man by telling James she was having a sexual relationship with the other man.
Davis’ husband then struck the man with a baseball bat, fracturing his skull.
The two then fled the scene.
When Opp Police Department officers attempted to locate James, Davis lied to police in an attempt to protect him from apprehension.
She also notified James of the time and place police would be searching for him and concealed him in her residence.
At her sentencing hearing this week, a character witness for Davis said she was trying to turn her life around.
Assistant District Attorney Emmett Massey made the argument that Davis was a career criminal, who had already accumulated four felony convictions and countless other misdemeanor convictions before she was found guilty.
“The consequence for career criminals should be hard,” District Attorney Walt Merrell said. “Anyone who continue to commit crimes after being convicted two or three or four times belongs in prison.”