A Dowagiac man with a history of violent behavior will spend the next several months in a state prison after breaking into a home where his girlfriend was staying in Niles and getting into a fight with one of the occupants.

Robert Robbie Reyna, 42, of Telegraph Street in Dowagiac, was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court in Niles to a minimum of 20 months and a maximum of 10 years in prison on one count of third degree home invasion.

Judge Angela Pasula said Reyna’s girlfriend had gone to stay at a relative’s home in Niles when Reyna, who had been drinking, burst into the home unannounced and uninvited. Reyna started fighting with the person his ex-girlfriend was staying with, Pasula said, and at one point tried to take a gun away from that person, making the situation potentially more dangerous.

Pasula said Reyna had approximately nine prior felony convictions and 13 prior misdemeanor convictions and had received four prison sentences.

“This is repeated behavior for you,” she said. “It is the behavior of a man who is going to do what he wants to do.”

While reading from a prepared statement prior to hearing the judge’s sentence, Reyna was apologetic, saying he is not a bad person, he is just a person who has made bad choices.

Also Monday, Todd William Depue, 44, of 17th Street in Niles, was sentenced to three years probation and 60 days at Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program on one count of driving while intoxicated as a third offense. Pasula also ordered Depue, a disabled veteran of Operation Desert Storm, to perform 480 hours of community service.

Pasula said Depue had a blood alcohol level of .248 — three times the legal limit of .08 — when he drove his car into a ditch.

“I am grateful I didn’t hurt anyone or myself,” he said.

Pasula also ordered Depue to spend a year on an alcohol monitoring tether system upon being released from KPEP.

Depue apologized for his actions and said he turned to alcohol because he was under a lot of strees.

“I never want to go there again, never,” he said.