CASSOPOLIS — A Las Vegas to Edwardsburg transplant will spend the next year and a half of his life on probation.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman sentenced David Castro-Emmert, 27, of the 60000 block of M-62 in Edwardsburg to two concurrent sentences of 18 months probation and 30 days in Cass County Jail for charges of domestic violence and resisting, assaulting and obstructing police officers.

Castro-Emmert pleaded guilty to the charges during a court appearance on Oct. 23, 2017.

The charges stem from an incident that occured on May 16, 2017 in Edwardsburg. Police were called to Castro-Emmert’s residence after reports of a domestic violence incident. The incident began when Castro-Emmert woke up to find his girlfriend asleep on the couch.

After confronting her about suspected affairs, the defendant punched a hole in the wall and opened the door to let out his girlfriend’s animals. Castro-Emmert pushed his girlfriend to the floor, injuring her hip, after she pushed him in an attempt to close the door.

When the girlfriend attempted to call 911, Castro-Emmert chased her outside the residence and pushed her again, resulting in hand and nose injuries. Eventually, the girlfriend fled to a neighbor’s home crying and bleeding.

When police arrived, Castro-Emmert was uncooperative and fought with officers throughout the entire time he was handcuffed and arrested. When tested, Castro-Emmert proved to have a high blood-alcohol content.

Prosecutor Victor Fitz said that the defendant showed classic signs of an aggressor due to the way that he treated the officers and his girlfriend’s animals during the inciting incident.

“This isn’t a one push episode,” Fitz said. “It’s repeated behavior.”

The original recommendation for Castro-Emmert was 30 days in Cass County Jail, but Fitz asked the judge to consider a lengthier sentence of 90 to 120 days, due to the defendant’s prior criminal history. Castro-Emmert has two prior felony convictions in Las Vegas, where he is from and still has family.

“He then comes to Michigan knowing that he’s been a bad boy elsewhere,” Fitz said of Castro-Emmert. “He needs to know that here in Cass County, you don’t get away with that stuff. We want him to be a good citizen to this community, but we also want there to be consequences when somebody assaults our officers and other citizens.”

Castro-Emmert’s attorney James Miller asked the court to defer a prison sentence due to his client’s good behavior since the arrest and because Castro-Emmert wanted to get back to his family in Nevada.

“[Castro-Emmert] came to [Cass County] to get away from some bad influences,” Miller said. “He would like to get back to his family in Nevada, because that is the only place in the United States where he has support.”

During court, Judge Herman noted that Castro-Emmert needed to get his drinking and anger issues in check if he were to be a productive member of society.

“When I look at your actions, it’s not hard for me to imagine why your girlfriend might want to look for somebody else,” Herman said. “You need to realize that beating someone up is not a way to win their love and affection.”

Ultimately, Herman adopted the original recommendation of the court and sentenced Castro-Emmert to 30 days in Cass County Jail and a year and a half of probation. The defendant has received credit for two days already served.

“I’ll give you the chance to work out your issues on probation,” Herman said. “But understand that if you do not comply with the probation, I can assure you as to what the prosecutor will recommend if you violate that probation, and I can assure you that this court will take a sterner approach with you if you do violate that probation.”

At sentencing, Castro-Emmert took a moment to address the court.

“I apologize [for my actions]. I know I did wrong,” he said. “I know that I have to do what I have to do to better myself.”