A group of Sharon High School students saw the uglier side of the criminal justice system Friday when they attended sentence court before Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson.

Brought in to observe court process for a day, the students witnessed something that lived up to Dobson's advance billing as out of the ordinary.

And they can't say they weren't warned.

Following the sentencing of Calvin E. Winchell, 24, of Sharon, Winchell launched into a series of expletives and threats aimed at Mercer County First Assistant District Attorney Lorinda Hinch.

"He called me a variety of names and then, I guess, made some comments about me outside the courtroom," she said. "I think Calvin associates me with his misfortune."

Winchell was sentenced to 1 to 3 years in a state prison for his February guilty plea to a charge of receiving stolen property.

That jail term will be put on top of a sentence of 2 to 7 years imposed two weeks ago by Judge Michael J. Wherry for probation violations, Ms. Hinch said.

"With that attitude, he'll probably do the whole 10 (years)," said District Attorney James Epstein.

Winchell's outburst was anticipated. Ms. Hinch said she was warned by Sheriff William Romine that Winchell was agitated, and the sheriff's department took extraordinary measures in case the agitation grew to violence, such as removing all water pitchers, which Winchell might throw.

Winchell's sentencing was saved for last and Dobson had told the high school students that they might want to leave.

"He told them it might be a little out of the ordinary," Ms. Hinch said. "They said, 'Oh, no. We want to stay.'"

Winchell has been arrested a handful of times over the past 2 1/2 years, on charges such as burglary, receiving stolen property and intimidation and retaliation against a victim or witness.

In cases concluded last year, he pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property in the burglary of a Hermitage home, and a charge of simple assault for shaking a 3-year-old girl in Sharon.

"He's a young man the courts have tried everything with," Ms. Hinch said. "He just wore out his welcome."

Winchell likely will undergo a mental health evaluation in the state prison system. she said.

Epstein said Winchell will not be charged for his outburst Friday.

"He's gone," Epstein said.