In spite of his attempts to run from — and hide from — police earlier this year, a South Bend man will have no opportunity to do either during his extended stay inside a Cass County jail cell.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 23-year-old Davion Lashawn Brent to one year in jail during his hearing Friday morning in Cass County court, on charges of fleeing from police in the third degree, resisting a police officer and operating a vehicle on a suspended license. Dodge found Brent guilty on the three counts during a bench trial on Sept. 1.

Brent was charged for attempting to flee from a Michigan State Police trooper on April 12, after the officer attempted to pull the man over for speeding along M-62 near Jefferson Center Street in Cassopolis. The trooper’s radar found that Brent was traveling at 77 mph in a 55 mph zone, prompting her to flick on her lights and siren and begin pursuing the offending driver.

“You took off,” Dodge said. “You sped down M-62 toward Cassopolis, passing some cars on a double yellow [roadway]. You also sped down the street toward Cassopolis High School, which also presented some danger to people in the school zone.”

Brent then entered a neighborhood located by Diamond Lake. The pursuing officer lost sight of Brent when she slowed down to pass the school, though a resident flagged the trooper down to tell her she had seen a suspicious man enter a neighboring home after speeding through the neighborhood, hiding his vehicle inside the house’s garage.

While the trooper and several other officers she had called for backup were speaking to another witness on the scene, Brent attempted to sneak out of the backdoor of the residence but was quickly discovered by the authorities. He resisted the officers’ attempts to arrest him, but was shortly taken into custody.

Although no one was injured during the chase or his attempt to hide from police, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik said Brent’s reckless driving endangered everyone who was on the road with him during his flight.

“There could have been a family involved in a very serious crash that would have resulted in a much more serious crime than what he [Brent] has been convicted of,” Machnik said. “Exasperating that situation is that he sped through a school zone while school was in session. An argument can be made that prison is appropriate.”

In spite of the danger his actions presented, the judge felt that a prison term was not appropriate punishment in this situation — though, given his prior record, neither was a term of probation, Dodge said.

Brent was given 193 days credit for time already served behind bars.

Also sentenced Friday:

• David Woodrow Pflug, 36, of Niles, to 270 days in jail for possession of methamphetamine.

• Bradley Robert Boersen, 19, of White Cloud, to a minimum of two years to a maximum of 7.5 years in prison for possession of weapons while in jail.

• Elvin Junior Pasley, 36, of Bloomingdale, to a minimum of 30 months to a maximum of 10 years in prison for fleeing from police in the third degree and operating while intoxicated.