By Jonathan Pless
A Monroe County man may be facing more jail time and tens of thousands in fines if he doesn’t comply with a judge’s orders. Mack Tharpe III has been building a house in the River Forest neighborhood since December of 2021. Even though a certificate of occupancy has been issued by the county, the landscaping—and specifically erosion prevention measures—have yet to be finished. Initially, Tharpe broke state law and EPD requirements by cutting all vegetation all the way to the Towaliga River. State law prohibits clearing within 25 feet of any state water, which the Towaliga is. Also, Mr. Tharpe has deviated from what was approved by the Architectural Review Board (ARB) of the HOA and remains unwilling to comply with the board’s request. The neglected property remains not only an eyesore to anyone passing by, but is also eroding the sediment around the Little Towaliga River which flows through Tharpe’s property. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division doesn’t look kindly to his negligence, and neither does one of Tharpe’s neighbors who has also lost land along the riverbank due to his inattention. There have been multiple court cases because of Tharpe’s neglectfulness.
Tharpe purchased two lots in the River Forest subdivision in August of 2021. By January 2023, he hired a construction company to begin building his house. Noticing that Tharpe hadn’t submitted any plans to the HOA architectural board for approval, they requested them in late January 2023. River Forest requires ARB approval of any residence prior to construction. Upon receiving only a rough sketch of the plans, they asked for the second time for detailed plans. They only received a sketch of the septic plan. So the HOA asked for detailed plans for the third time. They received no response and hired an attorney to send a letter asking Tharpe to stop construction. Tharpe avoided the attorney’s delivery attempts throughout April. So the HOA asked the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office for help.
Soon, a criminal case developed from the Sheriff’s office participation. It was previously reported in August of 2023 that after numerous failed attempts by River Forest attorneys to serve documents to Tharpe, Monroe County Deputies were entrusted with the task. The deputies planned a sting operation. They posed as appliance delivery drivers to gain an audience with Tharpe. The situation quickly escalated. Tharpe spit directly in a deputy’s face. The deputy immediately reacted by spitting back at him. Then Tharpe attempted to flee the scene on foot. Deputies pursued, tackled, and then arrested him. He was charged with simple battery and obstruction. But the criminal case was dismissed based on one of the deputies breaking procedure during the sequence of events. It ended in early January of 2024 when Tharpe paid $500 to the court under a “nolle prosequi” (Latin phrase that means “to be unwilling to pursue”) —the court decided to discontinue prosecution. District Attorney Jonathan Adams said, “unfortunately technicalities in the law required the case to be handled by pre-trial diversion and the payment of court costs rather than the jail time sought by the DA’s Office.”
Even though the criminal case has been tabled, the civil case is still pending between Tharpe and the HOA in River Forest. The HOA is simply trying to make Tharpe comply with the neighborhood’s long-established covenants and rules. This case officially began September 19, 2023 and is ongoing. Further, there’s no real end in sight.
Tharpe’s previously described neglectful behavior is not out of the ordinary. According to public court documents, Tharpe’s original attorneys recently filed with the court to be removed from his case. Reasons cited for their withdrawal include “not communicating with us,” “not following our legal advice,” and “you have not paid or made plans to pay our outstanding fees.” Judge Wilson approved Tharpe’s attorneys’ request of withdrawal. Mr. Tharpe’s most recent court date was in mid-October. But now Judge Wilson, who was originally presiding over the case, has recused himself. The case then went to Judge Fears, but he immediately recused himself too. The case is now awaiting a “Senior Judge” in order to continue litigation. Sources at the Court House informed us that due to the series of recusals it will take some time to pick up the case. There’s a small supply of Senior Judges in Georgia. Most of them are semi-retired and require advanced scheduling. We’ll keep you updated on any new developments.
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GEPD) has also played a role in this story. They visited the property several times according to documents obtained by Monroe Matters. They first met with Tharpe in August of 2023. After the initial site visit, they observed that “significant sediment [was] released” into the Little Towaliga River. The GEPD then sent a letter telling Tharpe he had to comply with a restoration plan. The plan they put in place includes a few basic actions any competent grading company abides by. He needs to replace and maintain silt fencing, rebuild and maintain a 25ft vegetation buffer zone around the river, and monitor rainfall during the process. But Tharpe still hasn’t complied with the GEPD’s plan, even after the original site visit and letter in August 2023 and second site visit and letter in September of this year. Three months later, and as of this writing, he’s yet to comply.
In the meantime, Monroe County issued a citation in their own attempt to coerce Tharpe to fix his negligence. The citation includes a fine “not to exceed $2,500” every day the issues aren’t fixed. It was issued and delivered in early October. According to county officials, there has yet to be one dollar collected due to delays related to the judge’s recusals and Mr Tharpe requesting a jury trial. There is another hearing scheduled for January 8th.
Monroe Matters attempted to contact Mack Tharpe III and give him an opportunity to share his view of the turmoil surrounding his property and actions. Tharpe in fact answered our phone call. We asked for his take on the evolving situation. He replied, “I’ve been racial profiled since I moved up here and what they do to me they don’t do to nobody else.” (sic) Later in the conversation, he stated, “The things they’re taking me through, it’s not right.” Tharpe also added, referencing the River Forest community, “There’s a lot of racism going on.” Tharpe decided to cut the interview short and he has not returned any attempt at communication from us to allow him further elaboration.
Since Tharpe v. River Forest HOA is still an ongoing case, this is a developing story. We’ll keep you informed because we believe Monroe Matters.
