By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES – Recent sentencings in Berrien County Trial Court and Cass County Circuit Court include prison terms for people convicted of drug and assault charges.
Jamel Raheem Vincent, 24, of Vineyard Place in Dowagiac, pleaded no contest to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation as a habitual offender and was sentenced last week in Cass Circuit Court to eight years in prison. He has credit for 275 days served and must pay $1,548 in fines and costs.
Vincent also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence and a felony charge of bribing/intimidating a witness. He received a sentence of 93 days in jail for domestic violence and of 275 days in jail for the witness intimidation. He must pay $748 in fines and costs.
He also had his probation revoked from a 2016 assault with a dangerous weapon conviction and was sentenced to 365 days in jail with credit for 446 days served for the probation violation.
The great bodily harm incident occurred Sept. 28 when he attacked and choked Tekeisha Thomas at a residence on Vineyard Place in Dowagiac. He later contacted Thomas to ask her not to come to court to testify against him or lie if she did.
“At age 24, he is a man of extreme violence,” Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said. “This is his 11th conviction. He is a manipulator who created a nightmare on Vineyard Street. He acted like a bully and coward and there is a need for a strong message to be sent … He’s a ticking time bomb.”
A Bridgman woman with an “abysmal” record is going to prison after being caught with methamphetamine during a May traffic stop in Berrien Springs.
Ciara Noell Miller, 23, of Jericho Road in Bridgman, pleaded guilty to possession
of methamphetamine and was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court to 18 months to 10 years in prison. She has credit for 60 days served and must pay $198 in fines and costs.
The incident occurred May 4 in Oronoko Township when Miller was stopped on Red Bud Trail near Highview and Pleasant Streets. Miller also faces other drug charges not only in Berrien County where she will be sentenced next Monday in St. Joseph for dealing meth, but in Starke and St. Joseph counties in Indiana.
“You have an abysmal record with 16 convictions at just 23 years old,” Berrien County Trial Judge Charles LaSata told Miller. “You’ve now ramped it up to dealing and spreading the poisoning to others. You’ve lost your daughter and your family and I think a prison sentence is warranted.”
“I’ve been going down the wrong path, I’ve lost custody of my daughter,” Miller said before the sentencing. “I want to be a productive member of society, I’m ready to maintain my sobriety and get a job.”
In other sentencings, two area men are going to prison on drug charges.
Don L. Anderson II, 40, of South Bend, pleaded guilty to delivery/manufacture of heroin/cocaine less than 50 grams and was sentenced to four to 20 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon and was sentenced to 16 to 60 months in prison.
The incident occurred April 19 at South 11th and Bertrand Road in Niles Township when Anderson was arrested after undercover officers from the Southwest Drug Enforcement Team bought drugs from him. He was previously convicted of robbery and was found to be in possession of a handgun.
Jason Eugene Visel, Sr., 45, of Lewis Drive in Niles, pleaded guilty to two counts
of delivery/manufacture of methamphetamine and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 85 months to 20 years in prison. He must pay $198 in fines and costs.
The incident occurred Nov. 27 when he provided meth to undercover officers in the 3100 block of South 11th Street in Niles Township. He also sold drugs to undercover officers on Dec. 6 and Dec. 19 last year.
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