LONGTIME CASS COUNTY JUDGE TO RETIRE

By DEBRA HAIGHT

CASSOPOLIS – The long judicial career of Cass County Circuit Judge Michael Dodge is winding down. An open house for the longtime judge was held Wednesday at the Cass County Law and Courts Building and Judge Dodge will do his last circuit court sentencings on Friday.
Last week, Judge Dodge sentenced two Dowagiac young men for their roles in several felonies. He also received accolades for his public service from St. Joseph attorney Paul Jancha.
“As one of the few attorneys who has appeared for you your entire career, I want to give a sincere and emotional thank you for your dedicated service,” Jancha told Dodge.
Judge Dodge began his judicial career when he was elected as a Cass Probate Judge in 1977. He was appointed to be a circuit judge in 1982, succeeding Circuit Judge James Hoff, and has been on the bench ever since. Previously, he served as the county’s first full-time prosecutor.
Judge Dodge, 71, announced his retirement earlier this year, noting that his decision was predicated on state law which mandates that Michigan judges cannot seek reelection past the age of 70. He is being succeeded on the bench by attorney Mark Herman of Niles. Herman won a two-way race with former Prosecutor Scott Teter in November.
Dodge is a U.S. Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Detroit and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He and his wife, Beth, have been active in their home community of Edwardsburg as well as in the larger community of Berrien and Cass Counties.
In last week’s sentencings, Brett Adam Gibson, 20, formerly of Niles, pleaded guilty to one count of first degree home invasion, two counts of second degree home invasion and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and was sentenced Friday to three concurrent terms of seven years in prison on the home invasion counts.
Gibson will also serve a two year prison term consecutive to the three other terms for the felony firearm charge. He has credit for 82 days already served and must pay $1,752 in fines and costs. He must also pay restitution totaling $5,390.68 to owners of two of the homes he broke into.
The break-ins took place from Sept. 7 to Sept. 12 at homes on Orchard, Oak and Florence Streets in Dowagiac. Gibson tore up the homes and took a variety of items including guns, electronic items and vintage baseball cards.
Dodge told Gibson that he had had opportunities to get help and hadn’t taken advantage of them.
“What’s almost mind boggling is that at age 20 you have two prior felony convictions and did this while you were on bond for unlawful driving away of an automobile in St. Joseph County, Indiana,” he said. “You were on Swift & Sure probation and had that revoked after you violated. You had opportunities to avoid today.”
The Swift & Sure probation occurred in Berrien County after Gibson’s sentence in 2014 for third degree home invasion. In that incident, he broke into a home to steal three cans of beer out of a refrigerator.
In the other sentencing, Gage Patrick Unger, 23, of Michigan 62 in Dowagiac, pleaded guilty to five felonies and one misdemeanor and was sentenced Friday to four concurrent terms of 365 days in jail for possession of burglar tools, larceny from a motor vehicle, larceny over $1,000 and failure to register as a sex offender-all as a habitual offender.
Unger was also sentenced to credit for time served for possession of marijuana and domestic violence.
He has credit for 188 days already served on the burglar tools, larceny from a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana counts. He must pay a total of $2,974 in fines and costs and $4,029.44 in restitution on the larceny over $1,000 charge.
The burglar tools, larceny from a motor vehicle and possession of marijuana incident occurred May 29 on Indian Lake Road near Dowagiac. The larceny over $1,000 incident occurred Aug. 20, 2014 when he and three others stole 350 feet of copper wire from an irrigation system on a Dowagiac area farm.
The domestic violence incident took place May 22 at a home on M-62 in Dowagiac, while the failure to register as a sex offender incident took place April 30 in Dowagiac.
“Your criminal history has been significant, you’ve been out of control and committed a wide variety of criminal acts,” Judge Dodge told Unger.
Dodge pointed particularly to the 2014 incident where he and three others stole wire from farmer Joseph Hassle, the owner of the Berrybrook Enterprises farm near Dowagiac.
“Your involvement in the theft of the irrigation wire was discovered through DNA analysis,” he said. “You were out at night, climbed up on the equipment and cut 350 feet of wire. That was really destructive, they had to wait to get it fixed and it endangered their crops. What did they do to deserve that?”
“Believe me, this is your last opportunity to avoid prison,” he told Unger. “Now is the time to turn things around.”