BERRIEN COUNTY COURT NEWS

A former Berrien County employee has pleaded guilty to drug and obstruction of justice counts and will be sentenced later this spring in Berrien County Trial Court.
Jessica Holmes, 35, of Eau Claire, pleaded guilty last week to a count of delivery of a controlled substance, a 20 year felony, and obstruction of justice, a five year felony, before Berrien County Trial Judge John Donahue. She is scheduled to be sentenced May 1.
Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic reported that his office agreed to a plea deal in which a third charge, second-degree criminal sexual conduct which is a 15 year felony, was dismissed. There are no other terms in the plea agreement.
Sepic said a neighboring county will write the pre-sentence investigative report. Holmes was employed as the Swift and Sure Program Coordinator in Berrien County Trial Court at the time of the incident last summer. She remains free on bond awaiting sentencing.
Sepic noted earlier that a number of Berrien County Trial Court judges disqualified themselves from hearing the case since she was employed with the trial court program. Holmes was a 16 year veteran of the court and had been promoted to the program coordinator position in the months before the incident.
Swift and Sure is a probation status in which felony probationers are selected for a state funded program designed to give them an opportunity to succeed on a local probation term and stay out of prison.
The incident in the Holmes case occurred last summer when Holmes developed a relationship with a Swift and Sure probationer after the July 11 courthouse shootings that killed two Berrien County bailiffs and injured a sheriff’s deputy.
Holmes delivered Norco, a controlled substance, to the man to sell for her. She also had a sexual relationship with him and gave him confidential information about his drug and alcohol testing.
In other court news, a South Bend woman who served as the getaway driver in a series of home invasions is going to prison.
Sarah Michelle Walter, 28, of Carrol Street in South Bend, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree home invasion and was sentenced in Berrien County Trial Court to two concurrent terms of 29 months to 15 years in prison. She has credit for 53 days already served. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
The incidents occurred last fall at homes on South 13th and South 15th Streets in Niles Township in which her accomplice stole handguns, jewelry, Xbox games and a drone.
Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Cortney O’Malley said Walter and her ex-husband went on a “drug fueled crime spree” in both southern Michigan and northern Indiana as they broke into several homes.
Her ex-husband is currently serving a 28 year prison sentence in Indiana and is expected to be returned to Michigan at some point to face charges here. Walter also faces charges in Indiana.
Two Berrien Springs residents were sentenced to probation last week in Berrien County Trial Court.
Carl W. Beshires-Applewhaite, 26, of Rockey Weed Road in Berrien Springs, pleaded guilty to larceny in a building and was sentenced Monday to two years probation in mental health court, 60 days tether and $1,198 in fines and costs. He was given credit for three days already served.
The incident occurred Dec. 31 at French Paper Company in Niles where Beshires-Applewhaite was cleaning the offices. He stole money as well as tobacco and was caught when a surveillance video captured his actions.
Beshires-Applewhaite said he’s currently working and getting counseling through Riverwood.
Berrien County Trial Judge Angela Pasula noted his extensive criminal history which includes 13 adjudications as a juvenile. “You’ve been on probation four times and had it revoked each time,” she said. “You’ve been to jail 11 times and to prison one time. You have eight prior theft convictions.”
“With your mental health issues, maybe probation is appropriate, but you have to follow the rules and commit no new crimes,” she added. “If you violate, you are going to jail.”
Veronica Beth Patterson, 44, of U.S. 31 in Berrien Springs, pleaded guilty to welfare fraud-failure to inform over $500 and was sentenced to five years probation, 50 hours of community service and $1,578 in fines and costs.
Restitution which could be more than $19,000, will be determined at a later date. That amount covers the assistance Patterson received from Dec. 1, 2012 through March 31, 2015 when she misrepresented her marital status, income and the fact her daughter was not living with her.
According to court records, she and her husband leased a home on Michigan Avenue in Berrien Springs for two years and filed as a married couple on income tax returns. She received $11,851 in food assistance, $1,418.58 in emergency relief and $6,023.60 in Medicaid during that time.
Patterson said that no one told her she was doing something wrong and that she was confused.
“This was a misappropriation of money that taxpayers pay,” Judge Pasula said. “This is theft and fraud, it’s not a matter of confusion but theft and fraud.”