By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES, MI – Recent court action in Berrien County Trial Court at the Niles courthouse includes prison sentences for area residents and another delay in the case of a St. Louis, Missouri man accused in the 2023 murder of a Niles man.
Jamie Phillip Perry, 32, of St. Louis, Missouri, is facing open murder and three other felony charges for the Sept. 30, 2023 death of Niles resident Luke James Botica at Botica’s home on the north side of Niles.
Perry had been bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing in the fall of 2023. Since then, he has been found to be not competent to stand trial a number of times and received treatment. Charges were refiled in the case in May due to the length of time he had been under treatment and not competent.
Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gordon Hosbein ordered another competency examination last week which will delay any further court action indefinitely. Judge Hosbein also ordered that future court proceedings take place in St. Joseph due to security concerns. Perry is once again defending himself after firing his attorney. He also fired another attorney in 2023.
In sentencings, a Buchanan man was sentenced to prison on two child pornography related charges stemming from an investigation that started in 2023.
Reginald Wesley Curtis, 63, of Buchanan, was found guilty by a jury in March of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive materials and use of a computer for criminal activity and was sentenced to concurrent terms of 72 months to 10 years in prison and 57 months to 10 years in prison.
He must register as a sex offender. He has credit for 88 days already served and must pay $326 in fines and costs.
An investigation started in 2023 found 4,250 images of child sexually abusive materials on his computer. Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Myrene Koch said that Curtis downloaded the materials to his computer, change the names of the files and then delete them from his computer.
Judge Hosbein said that he took punishment, rehabilitation, recidivism and deterrence into consideration in fashioning the sentence. He said in this case that deterrence and punishment were the most important considerations for what he called “abhorrent behavior.”
In other sentencings:
April Mae Horton, 50, of Niles, pleaded guilty to drug and other charges in four separate incidents and received concurrent prison sentences.
She pleaded guilty to second offense possession of methamphetamine from a November, 2025 incident in Niles and was sentenced to 20 months to 20 years in prison with credit for 185 days already served. She must pay $598 in fines and costs.
She also pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine from a May, 2025 incident in Niles and was sentenced to 20 months to 10 years in prison with credit for 183 days served and $68 in fines and costs.
She received a prison sentence of 14 months to two years for possession of LSD occurring Feb. 2 in Niles. She has credit for 68 days already served and must pay $68 in fines and costs.
She pleaded guilty to tampering with an electronic device occurring March 3 in Niles and was sentenced to 14 months to two years in prison with credit for 68 days served and $68 in fines and costs.
Koch noted that Horton had a prior record of five felony and 27 misdemeanor convictions. She said she didn’t think Horton would be a good candidate for probation as she’s violated probation and parole previously.
Judge Hosbein pointed out that Horton’s criminal history goes back 30 years and she continued to commit crimes even when on bond in these cases. “What that’s telling me is that you have no respect for the system, the rules or the orders of the court,” he said. “You could go to probation and you’d be right back here.”
Phillip Joshua Greenlee, 22, of Granger, Ind. pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct-assault with intent to commit sexual penetration and was sentenced to 30 months to 10 years in prison with credit for 361 days served. He must pay $258 in fines and costs and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
He also pleaded guilty to second degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to 14 months to five years in prison with credit for 361 days served and $68 in fines and costs. The prison terms are concurrent.
The incidents occurred between June and November of 2024 in Buchanan.
Johnathan Thomas Burland, 35, of Niles, pleaded guilty to second offense unlawful driving away of an automobile and was sentenced to 14 months to 90 months in prison. He has credit for 75 days already served and must pay $198 in fines and costs and $4,618 in restitution.
The incident occurred March 18 in Niles when he took his parents’ car and damaged it.
Judge Hosbein said that Burland’s statements to his mother as well as to police were “worrisome.” “You have 20 convictions,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of them revolve around mental health and substance abuse issues but it’s disturbing that your actions show blatant disregard for the rules of the community. I don’t think probation is appropriate.”