By Elizabeth Ridenour
The Muskogee Phoenix
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A former Gore police officer charged with setting fire inside his home while his wife and stepdaughter were inside received a deferred sentence Wednesday.
Charles Mark Shamblin, 46, of Webbers Falls received a 10-year deferred sentence from Associate District Judge Norman Thygesen.
“The very fact that you got this charge against you shows incredibly bad judgment,” Thygesen told Shamblin, emphasizing the word “incredibly.”
Thygesen then told Shamblin that because he was a police officer at the time of the arrest, “you’re held to a higher standard.”
A deferred sentence is one that can be expunged at the end of the sentence if the person stays out of trouble. If Shamblin does not follow the rules and condition of probation, he can be sentenced to prison.
Assistant District Attorney Tim King read a victim’s impact statement written by Shamblin’s wife, Elizabeth Shamblin.
“The man whom I shared my life with for 20-plus years set fire to the bed I was lying in, attempting to burn my clothes in my closet and attempting to pour a five-gallon jug of gasoline on me and the house in an attempt to burn me and burn down the house, all the time screaming how he had looked into it and there was nothing we could do about it,” King read.
“I live in fear every day that he will come after me,” Elizabeth Shamblin’s statement continues. “That night he stated to me and to the two police officers he would finish what he started, and I believe him.”
Charles Mark Shamblin pleaded no contest Oct. 8 to first-degree arson. By pleading no contest, Shamblin would accept whatever sentence the judge felt was fair.
The judge also ordered Shamblin to surrender his Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training certification, thus nullifying his ability to serve as a law enforcement officer. Thygesen also told Shamblin that he is not to own or possess any guns — handguns or long guns — and cannot go hunting.
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(c)2014 the Muskogee Phoenix (Muskogee, Okla.)
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