A Dowagiac man will spend the next few years behind bars at a Michigan penitentiary for beating another man with a brick while strung out on crack in late 2015.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman sentenced 38-year-old Robert Lee Blassingame Jr. to a minimum of two years and six months to a maximum of six years in prison during his sentencing hearing Friday morning in Cass County court, on a charge of conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon. Blassingame was also sentenced to a concurrent prison term of a minimum term of two years and four months to a maximum of 15 years for a charge of possession of methamphetamine.

The Dowagiac man pleaded guilty to both counts Nov. 28.

The assault occurred on Dec. 6, 2015, at a residence on M-62 in Dowagiac, where Blassingame and his father, Robert Lee Sr., along with the victim, Adam Best, were smoking crack cocaine together. After running out of the substance, the younger Blassingame decided to grab Best’s TV set and place it in the trunk of his car, thinking he could try to sell it in order to order to pay for more drugs.

However, Best was opposed to the idea and tried to take the TV out of Blassingame’s vehicle. This prompted Blassingame’s father to begin attacking Best, with Blassingame himself joining the fray, hitting the victim multiple times in the head with a brick.

The victim was hospitalized and placed in intensive care for a few days due to his injuries, Herman said.

“You are fortunate that you are not here on a murder charge,” the judge said, talking to the defendant in court Friday.

On Aug. 3, 2016, Blassingame was pulled over near the intersection of Rudy Road and Prairie Ronde Street by Dowagiac police, where he was taken into custody on several outstanding warrants after initially lying about his identity. During a search of his vehicle, he was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, that he claimed he was given in exchange for a chop saw with a man in Niles.

In his statement to the court, Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz pointed out Blassingame’s extensive criminal record, fueled mainly by his abuse of methamphetamine and cocaine — something the defendant himself acknowledged during his remarks to the judge.

“I have actually know you for a long time,” Herman said. “You actually look better now than you have in a long time, because you have become sober since you became incarcerated.”

In spite of the defendant’s request to be placed on probation so that he can receive drug treatment, Herman said Blassingame was not suited for such a program due to his assaultive behavior and the fact he has been on probation several times in the past.

“You do not have to be involved with the court system to get treatment,” Herman said. “That is something you have to realize on your own.”

Blassingame was given credit for 198 days already served behind bars.

Also sentenced Friday:

• James Robert Jones II, 20, of Mendon, to three years of probation for conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

• Russell Allen Dilley, 40, of Dowagiac, to 150 days in jail and 18 months of probation for attempted first-degree home invasion.

• Jabron Montez Poydras, 25, of Redford, Michigan, to 270 days in jail for a count of illegal use of a financial transaction device and three counts of possession of a financial transaction device.

• Steven Wheeler Johnson, 24, of Edwardsburg, to 330 days in jail for larceny in a building.

• David Dustin Kurzhal, 35, of Niles, to 120 days in jail for delivery/manufacture of marijuana and possession of marijuana.