COURT NEWS UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT

BCR Correspondent

Recent court action in Berrien County Trial Court includes sentencings, the arraignment of a former Benton Harbor police officer and the setting of a hearing for a Niles man convicted of murder nearly 10 years ago.

Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Sepic reported last week that former Benton Harbor police officer Steven Johnson was arraigned on a felony charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. Johnson’s next court dates are Friday for a pre-exam conference and July 26 for a preliminary hearing, both in St. Joseph.

Sepic reported that officers from the Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety responded to a dispatch call on May 10 at 1:45 am of a man with a lawn mower. Police investigating came upon a man on a bike without a head light, a state law and city ordinance violation.  The man refused to speak to officers and rode away.

Officers attempted to stop the man on the bike with their vehicles by cordoning off an escape path.  Patrol officer Steven Johnson turned into a business driveway/alley in the 100 block of North Fair Avenue and is alleged to have struck and run over the man, Ronald Glover, Jr. with his car Glover was later arrested by other officers.

Johnson was charged after an independent investigation was conducted by the Michigan State Police. Assault with a dangerous weapon is a four year felony.  Johnson, 51, of Sturgis, was terminated by the city of Benton Harbor after the investigation.

Glover, 25, of Benton Harbor, was transported to Lakeland, treated and released. Glover was on parole at the time and later pled guilty to Resisting and Obstructing a Police Officer and Possession of Marijuana With Intent To Deliver stemming from this incident.  He was sentenced on June 25 to 1 year in the Berrien County jail.

A hearing in Berrien County Trial Court in Niles is set for today regarding the 2009 murder conviction of Jonathan Castillo. Castillo and his attorneys are claiming that they have new evidence and a new witness and are asking for a new trial.

Castillo, then 28, was convicted in July 2009 of the stabbing death of Michael Evans of Dowagiac. Evans was killed Feb. 2, 2009 outside Castillo’s sister’s home in the 1600 block of Maple Street in Niles. Evans had gone there with the mother of Castillo’s three children to pick up two of them to take them to school.

Castillo and his sister fled the scene after the stabbing and were arrested a day later in Elkhart. Castillo claimed self defense during his 2009 trial.

In sentencings this week, a Benton Harbor man is going to prison for possession of methamphetamine.

Jonathon Michael Tripp, 37, of Jennings in Benton Harbor, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced Monday to a prison term of 14 months to 10 years. He has credit for no time already served as he was on parole at the time of the incident. He must pay $198 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred May 20 in Niles. Tripp was found asleep in his car at the

Shell station on South 11^th Street and had drugs and drug materials in the car.

Tripp is on parole from a June 2015 conviction for possession of contraband by a prisoner. His previous prison sentences included ones for an August 2012 possession of meth conviction and a June 2005 breaking and entering conviction.

Defense attorney Scott Sanford said Tripp’s struggles go back to his substance abuse problems. “He hasn’t dealt with his underlying reasons for his substance abuse,” Sanford said. “He’s not a violent individual … he needs a new skill set.”

Tripp said he had been doing good up until recently. “I struggle with different triggers, I don’t think prison will help,” he said.

Berrien County Trial Judge Charles LaSata had a different take on the situation and noted Tripp’s past record. “You’re 37 years old and have 24 prior convictions,” he said. “Your first one was for criminal sexual conduct in 1993 and it’s been downhill ever since.”

“With a record like that, we’ve tried everything else and we’re not at the helping stage anymore,” he said. “It’s a matter of protecting the public. You’re not completely a lost cause but it’s been 25 years of crime. I would love it if something would click with you but I’m not real optimistic from what I’ve seen.”