Prison sentences were handed down to two Indiana men in recent Berrien County Trial Court action. Other sentencings included ones for drugs and being a felon in possession of weapon.
In sentencings, James A. Palmer, 33, of Plymouth, Ind. pleaded
guilty to delivery/manufacture of methamphetamine and was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison. He has credit for 114 days already served. He must pay $258 in fines and costs.
The incidents occurred July 25 through Aug. 26, 2016 when he sold methamphetamine to an undercover Niles police officer outside the Niles Wal-Mart on South 11th Street in Niles Township.
“I’m sorry I committed the crime,” Palmer told Judge LaSata. “I realize I need to get away from meth.”
“Unfortunately you’ve been in and out of jail with multiple convictions since you were 18,” LaSata said. “Meth is something our elected officials have decided is so highly addictive that the penalties for meth are higher than those for heroin and cocaine.”
Jeffery James Bucher, 36, of South Bend, pleaded guilty to failure to report and register as a sex offender as a habitual offender and was sentenced to 14 months to 84 months in prison. He has credit for 114 days already served and must pay $198 in fines and costs.
Bucher failed to report in January, April and July of 2016, failed to pay the registration fee and failed to maintain identification. He also has previous failure to register convictions in 2012 and 2015. He was put on the sex offender registry because of a 2002 Florida conviction for lewd or lascivious battery on a child ages 12-15.
In other sentencings, a Niles man who absconded from his parole for breaking and entering a building with intent to commit larceny is going to jail.
Jason Eugene Visel, Jr., 21, of Sycamore Street in Niles, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of weapons and ammunition by a felon and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and $198 in fines and costs. He has credit for no days served as he was on parole when the incident happened. The jail term can be served in any penal institution.
The incident occurred Jan. 23 when a passenger in Visel’s car was shooting a handgun out of the car window on North 14th Street in Niles. The car was eventually stopped on North Fifth Street.
Judge LaSata called it “stunning” that Visel’s first criminal offense occurred when he was just eight years old and was skeptical of Visel’s vow that he plans to grow up now he has a child on the way. “You’ve been abusing all kinds of substances over the years,” he said. “I’m tired of all the pity parties, it’s time to buck up.”
The incident occurred Dec. 3 at a home on Vernon Street in Niles when she was found to be in possession of needles and a pipe. Her previous convictions include controlled substance possession in 2012 and 2017 and domestic violence in 2016.
A South Bend teen caught dealing drugs in Riverfront Park in Niles will get the chance to keep the felony conviction off his permanent record.
Daniel Jackson Pozywio, 19, of South Bend, pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to deliver marijuana and was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court to two years probation under the Holmes Youthful Training Act.
Pozywio’s probation term includes serving 90 days in jail, completion of the TriCap drug treatment program and $1,198 in fines and costs. He has credit for two days already served.
The incident occurred Jan. 3 when Niles police found Pozywio in his car in Riverfront Park near Broadway in possession of more than a pound of marijuana and $8,685 in cash.
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