Before getting his drinking problem straightened out, a Cassopolis man will have to spend time in a county jail cell after battering his girlfriend during a drunken argument last December.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 38-year-old James Steven Huffman, of Crooked Creek Road, Cassopolis, to 365 days in jail during his sentencing hearing Friday in county court, on a single charge of assault with great bodily harm less than murder.

Huffman pleaded guilty to the charge during an appearance in court Sept. 9.

The attack occurred on Dec. 30, 2015, after Huffman and his girlfriend, Marita Badman, celebrated the man’s birthday by enjoying some drinks. Later in the day, the two ended up in an argument, with Huffman strangling her and severely beating her in the course of the fight, Dodge said.

“She eventually escaped from you, and tried to drive away from the scene of the assault,” Dodge said. “She did not get too far. She got stuck in a ditch along the side of the road, and was found by a passing motorist.”

She was later transported to the hospital by ambulance, where she received treatment for her injuries, which included bruising on her neck and fractures to the left side of her face. Badman may have also suffered a concussion in the attack, the judge said.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz added that Huffman left Badman “bruised, battered and bloodied,” and that the woman had problems speaking following the attack.

“Only a coward and bully does those types of things,” Fitz said.

Huffman, in the court’s presentence report, said the attack was the result of his intoxication and the fact that Badman had attacked him as well, Dodge said. The judge rejected these explanations, though, given how much larger Huffman was than his victim, he said.

“I understand alcohol probably caused this, but it is not an excuse,” Dodge said. “You have to be accountable for your actions. No one forced you to drink. You did that yourself. Now you get what happens when you do.”

Greg Feldman, Huffman’s attorney, told the judge his client accepts that what he did to his girlfriend was wrong, and had returned from Florida, where he had been staying, to face the consequences of those actions.

Huffman also spoke during Friday’s hearing, telling the judge that he wants to permanently relocate down south, where his father lives, in order to get treatment for his alcohol abuse as well as to sever any future contact with Badman.

“I am afraid if I stay here, she will try to contact me, or vice versa,” he said.

Huffman was given credit for 291 days already served behind bars.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Dalton Joseph Ashby, 20, of Dowagiac, to three years of probation for conspiracy to commit larceny of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000.

• Gage Patrick Unger, 23, of Dowagiac, to 365 days in jail on charges of possession of burglars tools, larceny from a motor vehicle, possession of marijuana, larceny of $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, domestic violence and failure to register as a sex offender.

• Alexis Lee Price, 17, to 180 days in jail for third-degree home invasion and possession of marijuana.