CASSOPOLIS – Michigan State Police trooper Jesse Binns has already lost everything including his job and his wife because of his gambling addiction.

That was the message of Binns’ attorney before his sentencing on an embezzlement related charge Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Defense attorney Brett Naumcheff said everything Binns saw during his work as a law enforcement officer and firefighter along with seeing his brother-in-law, another state trooper, injured got to be too much for him, and he turned to gambling.

“He’s lost absolutely everything — his job as a trooper. He will never be in law enforcement again. He lost his job as a firefighter, and he’s lost his wife,” Naumcheff said. “He stands here a broken man. As long as he’s on probation, he won’t be able to break free from his past. His desire is to move forward and start a new life. The penalty of the court pales before what has happened to him.”

Binns, 30, of Cassopolis, pleaded guilty in late May to one count of failing to keep public money safe and was sentenced Friday to 18 months’ probation, credit for one day in jail already served, $1,378 in fines and costs and $18,971 in restitution. He cannot enter any casino, gamble on the internet or buy lottery tickets.

Cass Circuit Judge Mark Herman noted that the restitution has already been paid on Binns’ behalf and ordered Binns to pay back the person as part of his probation. Herman added that Binns’ gambling addiction “snowballed” out of control over time to the point that he was going to the casino as often as twice a day.

“I read the letters of support for you,” he told Binns. “They highlighted the many good things you’ve done in the community. You were raised to be a person of good character, but those qualities were not enough to overcome the evils of addiction. You think you were supposed to suck it up, that real men don’t ask for help, but it’s not as hard as you think.

“I hope you take into consideration what has been said. You have a lot of good qualities, and you have to get back to who you were,” the judge said. “You have a lot of good things to offer. You’re a young man and still have a lot of life ahead of you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

The embezzlement took place between January 2017 and September 2018 from the Central Cass Fire Department. Binns was assistant chief of the department at the time and comingled his funds with the department’s.

Binns said in May that he used the debit card he had for the fire department to fund his gambling addiction. He apologized to the fire department and the community in court Friday. “I’m ashamed of what I did. It makes me sick physically and mentally,” he said. “I want to move forward.”

Fellow Central Cass firefighter Kellie Chaffee spoke before the sentencing. She said that Binns had encouraged her to join the department, and she saw him as a mentor.

“I’ve seen firsthand the good he did,” she said. “But that comes with responsibility. I wonder how much different everything would be if he had reached out to us for help.”

“He never asked for help while he was gambling away our department’s funds,” she added. “Several months have passed, and we have not heard him apologize. It’s almost as if he feels we owe more loyalty to him. He’s trying to divide our department. … I don’t hate him. I forgive him, but there should be consequences.”

Friday’s delayed court action after a morning bomb scare also featured three other sentencings.

• A Detroit woman who tried to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs from the Dowagiac Rite Aid was sentenced to fines and costs. Helen Beatrice Bradley-McFarlin, 61, of Detroit, pleaded conspiracy to obtain drugs by fraud and possession of a forged prescription and was sentenced to $1,258 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred Sept. 11, 2012, at the Dowagiac Rite Aid. She had agreed to try to get the drugs in return for $100. The pharmacy refused to fill the prescription.

“You should consider yourself lucky to only get fines and costs,” Judge Herman said. “This shows that crime doesn’t pay and bad things happen when you’re dealing drugs.”

• Kevin Lee Davis, 24, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, pleaded guilty to third degree home invasion as a habitual offender and was sentenced to 365 days in jail and $1,548 in fines and costs. The incident occurred May 10 in Jones. He also faces charges in Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties including a parole violation.
• Michael Miner, 44, of Michigan City, Indiana, pleaded no contest to conspiracy to break and enter and larceny in a building and was sentenced to two years’ probation, $2,348 in fines and costs and $2,245.08 in restitution. The incident occurred May 11, 2018, at a property on Lakeshore Drive in Cassopolis.