LOCAL COURTS SENTENCE SEX OFFENDERS, GUN THIEF AND ANIMAL TORTURER

Sentencings last week in Berrien County Trial Court and Cass Circuit Court included a prison sentence for a Niles man who molested two young girls four years ago.
Curtis Adam Kline, 28, of Huntly Road in Niles, pleaded no contest in August and was sentenced in Cass Circuit Court to two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct against victims under age 13. Kline was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 18.75 to 40 years in prison.
Kline must register as a sex offender and be on lifetime electronic monitoring. He has been ordered to pay $1,116 in fines and costs. He has credit for 567 days already served in jail.
The incidents occurred between 2012 and 2013 at a home in Howard Township.
Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Mathews said Kline groomed and threatened his two young victims. “These children will never be the same because of the evil he did to them,” she said. “He needs to be in a place where he doesn’t harm others.”
“What was done here is reprehensible,” Cass Circuit Judge Mark Herman said. “Your actions started when one victim was seven or eight years old.”.
Curtis Adam Wade, 37, of Third Avenue in Dowagiac, pleaded guilty in August to nine felony charges as a habitual offender and was sentenced to two prison terms of nine to 40 years, five prison terms of six to 40 years and two prison terms of 34 months to 20 years. All terms are concurrent.
The nine-year prison terms were for possession of child pornography and using a computer to commit a crime. The six-year prison terms were for conspiracy to receive, conceal or possess stolen guns, receiving, concealing and possession stolen guns, possession of firearms by a felon and two counts of possession of a short-barreled shotgun.
The 34-month prison terms were for breaking and entering a coin operated device and conspiracy to commit breaking and entering a coin operated device.
The incidents occurred in July and August of 2016 at locations in Dowagiac.
Mathews said Wade took his 17 year old girlfriend on a crime spree where guns were stolen, a car was shot up and coin operated devices were broken into. The child pornography charge came from him having images on his computer of his girlfriend who was underage.
Herman told Wade he has a lot of potential if he goes in the right direction with his life. He noted that Wade could have faced a minimum of 24 years in prison if the prosecutor’s office hadn’t agreed to a plea deal.
In other sentencings, Juan Martinez III, 48, of South Bend, was sentenced to prison after being found guilty of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, contact, after a jury trial this summer.
He will serve two concurrent terms of 50 months to 15 years in prison. He has credit for 35 days already served and must register as a sex offender. The incidents occurred in November 2016 at a home on South 13th Street in Niles Township.
Brandon Allen Goode, 26, of Old U.S. 31 in Berrien Springs, pleaded no contest to killing/torturing of animals and was sentenced in Berrien County Trial Court to three years probation, 150 days in jail and $133.44 in restitution for the dog’s medical bills.
Berrien County Trial Judge Angela Pasula also ordered that Goode cannot own or have contact with any pets.
The incident occurred June 18 at a location in Berrien Township. Police reported that Goode let out his neighbor’s dog, a 20 pound beagle, and then started hitting and choking it and then body slammed it. The dog was rescued by other neighbors.
Goode was found to have a blood alcohol level of .24 which would be three times the legal limit if he had been driving.