Drug trafficker gets 38 years in prison after parole violation
Jonathan Tarbet, 45, of Marble Falls was sentenced to 38 years in prison by a district judge after violating parole, which he was serving for a 2022 drug trafficking conviction. Burnet County Jail photo
Jonathan Tarbet, 45, of Marble Falls was sentenced to 38 years in prison by a district judge after violating parole, which he was serving for a 2022 drug trafficking conviction.
The sentencing came down on Oct. 24 from 424th Judicial District Judge Evan Stubbs.
Tarbet was originally arrested during a traffic stop in Kingsland in August 2022 and found to be in possession of 13 grams of methamphetamine, which he later confessed to intending to distribute. He pleaded guilty to the first-degree felony charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in October 2023.
The punishment for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver varies in severity depending on the type of substance and its quantity, but, in this case, it came with possible sentence of five to 99 years in prison.
The state deferred Tarbet’s guilt conditional upon 10 years’ probation, but Tarbet violated his probation within three months, according to a media release from the 33rd/424th District Attorney’s Office.
“This defendant was given a chance to show us that he could be trusted in our community, but he threw that chance away and the judge sentenced him accordingly,” wrote District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee in the media release. “We’re grateful to the Llano County Sheriff’s office for continuing to work to get methamphetamine off our streets.”
Tarbet tested positive for methamphetamine use and failed to report to his parole officer leading up to the Oct. 24 sentencing.