ABBEVILLE – A man whose Vermilion Parish criminal record dats to the early 1990s has been sentenced to life in prison as an habitual offender.

Judge Durwood Conque sentenced Derrick Harris, age 44, of Abbeville, to life in prison without benefit of parole or probation after ruling Harris was a felony habitual offender.

Harris was convicted in a bench trial in June of distribution of marijuana.

On Oct. 2, 2008, in Abbeville, Harris sold marijuana to an undercover officer for the Vermilion Parish Narcotics Task Force, and Harris used a juvenile in his school uniform to flag the officer down.

This was all captured on video. On Sept. 20 of this year Conque sentenced Harris to 15 years at hard labor for distribution of marijuana.

The DA’s office this week proved to Conque that Harris was a felony habitual offender, a career criminal, showing he was convicted of distribution of cocaine and simple robbery in 1994, simple burglary in 1997, felony theft in 2006, and distribution of marijuana in 2008.

The law required that Harris get a mandatory life sentence once Hardee proved Harris was convicted of all those felonies.