A Dowagiac man learned the hard way Thursday what happens when someone fights the law — and the law wins.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Jeremy Curtis Vincent, 21, to 150 days in jail for assaulting/resisting police during his hearing in Cass County court. Vincent pleaded guilty to the count during an earlier appearance before the judge
Sept. 8.

According to the judge, the incident for which the charge against Vincent stems took place Aug. 26, when officers with the Dowagiac Police Department were dispatched to a reported domestic incident at the Vineyard Place apartment complex. The police who arrived at the scene were told that Vincent attacked two other people during a drinking party, with a third person attempting to restrain the defendant.

“When police attempted to intervene to get ahold of the situation, you fought with and resisted them,” Dodge told the defendant in court Thursday. “They then ended up tasing you.”

In spite of his young age, the resisting arrest charge is one of several crimes Vincent has committed in recent years, with prior convictions for armed robbery, assault and battery and domestic violence, among others, said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz.

Describing Vincent as a “selfish and violent man,” the prosecutor asked the judge to impose a sentence that would account for the impact the defendant had on not only the police who responded to the situation but also the people living at the apartment complex who suffered his attacks.

“The citizens of this county are all impacted when things such as this occur,” Fitz said.

Vincent’s attorney, James Miller, said his client’s criminal record is the result of his neglected education, as the Dowagiac man failed to graduate high school. The attorney requested a probation sentence for his client, which would allow the man to focus on his future once again, Miller said.

“He can get back to school, get back to learning the skills he needs to survive in the community on his own, without further involvement with law enforcement,” Miller said.

Vincent declined the chance to speak on his own behalf when asked by the judge for comment.

Dodge did not find Vincent as a suitable probation candidate due to his prior convictions, though the judge decided to give the man a jail sentence at the low end of the state’s recommend guideline range.

Vincent was given credit for 76 days already served behind bars. He may also be released after 90 days pending full payment of his court assessments and fines.