INDIANA KILLER FACES FURTHER MURDER CHARGES IN BERRIEN COUNTY COURTS

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES – A person has been arraigned and charged in connection with a 2022 homicide in Niles. Meanwhile, another area resident has been sentenced to prison on weapons-related charges.
Rease David Pence, 20, formerly of Niles and Dowagiac, was arraigned last week after being brought back to face the Michigan charges from Indiana where he is serving prison terms at the Miami Correctional Facility for two Indiana murders also in 2022.
He was convicted in 2023 for the murders of two Niles women at an apartment complex north of South Bend. He received sentences of 55 years in prison on each count plus an additional 12.5 years in prison on each count for the use of a firearm in the commission of the murders.
His next court dates at the Niles courthouse are Aug. 20 for a pre-exam conference and Aug. 26 for a preliminary hearing. He is being held in the Berrien County Jail on no bond.
Pence faces four counts: open murder, carrying a concealed weapon, receiving, concealing or possession of a stolen vehicle and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted of murder, five years on the weapon and stolen vehicle charges, and a consecutive two-year term for the felony firearm.
The incident occurred May 12, 2022 at the Arbor Trails apartment complex on North Fifth Street in Niles. Police received numerous calls of a shooting that night in the complex.
Witnesses reported that four teenagers were walking outside one of the buildings when a pickup truck pulled up and a person wearing a red ski mask got out. He confronted the four teens and a fistfight ensued before he allegedly pulled out a gun and fired three times.
The court records indicated that a 14 year old juvenile, Gavin Blankenship, was shot and later died from his injuries.
Police interviewed Pence’s half brother who said he had been with Pence and two others earlier that day and that they had been smoking marijuana. The half brother did not go to the Niles apartment complex but said Pence returned that night and said he had shot someone and they had to get rid of the truck.
Police were also able to obtain a Snapchat video shot by another person who was in the truck at the time of the shooting that showed Pence driving the car and wearing a red ski mask. Police later discovered that the truck had been stolen the previous day from the Oak Manor area in Niles Township.
In other court news, Donald Lawyer Knight, 36, now of Eau Claire, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and discharged of a firearm with intentional aiming and was sentenced to concurrent terms of 12 months to five years in prison and 365 days in jail.
He has credit for 3 days served, must forfeit the weapon, and pay $308 in fines and costs. His jail credit time is low because he has been on parole and did not receive credit for most of the time he’s been in jail.
         The incident occurred March 29 in Niles. Knight was initially charged with assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder after strangling his girlfriend and then grabbing her gun and shooting at her as she drove away.
The sentences will be consecutive to any parole violation sentence he gets from violating his parole from an earlier robbery conviction in Indiana.
Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Myrene Koch said it was concerning to her that Knight was on parole at the time of the incident.
She added that he is being investigated for incidents that have occurred in the Berrien County Jail during his incarceration. He also tried to contact the victim over 1,000 times while he’s been in jail.
“He cannot follow the rules whether it’s parole or being in jail,” Koch said.
Knight’s attorney asked for a lower sentence since he faces consequences from violating his parole.
Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gordon Hosbein said he found the sentence recommendation of at least 12 months in prison to be “appropriate and proportionate” given Knight’s criminal history and the dangerousness of this incident.