CASSOPOLIS — A Dowagiac man is going to prison after being convicted by a Cass County Circuit Court jury of drug charges.

Christopher Leroy “Preacher” Parsons, 55, of Bradley Street in Dowagiac, was convicted of delivery of methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house by a jury in December. He was sentenced Friday to 10 to 20 years in prison on the meth charge and two to 15 years in the prison on the drug house charge.

Parsons was also convicted of violating his probation from a 2017 conviction for possession of meth and was sentenced to 28 months to 15 years in prison and had his probation revoked.

All the sentences are concurrent. He has 371 days credit on the most recent conviction and 529 days credit for the 2017 case. He must pay $1,616 in fines and costs and $289.32 in restitution.

The most recent incident occurred March 1, 2019, at a residence in the 100 block of Bradley Street in Dowagiac. Members of the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team raided the home and found him with two to three ounces of meth that he was planning to sell.

“He’s a poster boy for the dangers of drugs to the community,” said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz Friday before the sentencing. “He has 15 prior felony and 13 prior misdemeanor convictions. This occasion involved very serious activity of selling drugs that endangered the whole community.”

Defense attorney James Miller said Parsons has struggled with addiction for 40 years.

“He knows he can be a better person, he just needs to figure out what keeps him going back to drugs,” he said. “A cure is in order rather than punishment to the extreme.”

Parsons apologized for his behavior. He noted that he was able to gain tools from his Adult Treatment Court experience but said he had been incarcerated so long during his life that it has affected his thinking.

“You’ve been to prison multiple times,” said Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman. “You admitted that you lapsed into criminal thinking. We’ve bent over backwards to give you the tools, but you relapsed, and we still gave you a chance. … I don’t know what’s driving you, but we’ve done all we can.”

In another sentencing, a Berrien Springs man who broke into his mother’s home in Cassopolis and then tried to intimidate his girlfriend to not testify against him is staying in jail.

Jordan Paul Lofton, 23, of N. Main Street in Berrien Springs, pleaded guilty to third-degree home invasion, resisting and obstructing police and bribing/intimidating a witness. He was sentenced to a year in jail with credit for 321 days served on the first two charges and one year in jail with credit for 205 days served on the intimidation charge.

The sentences are concurrent and can be served in any penal institution. He must pay $2,374 in fines and costs. He has charges against him pending in Berrien County.

The home invasion and resisting police incident occurred April 20, 2019, at a residence in Cassopolis while the witness intimidation incident occurred Aug. 11, 2019, at the Cass County Jail.

Judge Herman noted that police were dispatched to Lofton’s mother’s home in Cassopolis on Easter last year. Lofton had pushed his way into the home after being told not to. He refused to leave when police arrived and was uncooperative. He later tried to get his girlfriend not to testify against him, calling her 363 times from the jail between April and August.

“The adage certainly applies that when you’re a child, you act like a child, and when you’re an adult, you put aside childish ways,” Fitz said. “When he’s sober, he’s a good guy, and his family still lovs him. He needs to toe the line and get treatment. … I hope he chooses the path to be a man. He needs to ask where he wants to be in five, 10 or 15 years.”

Lofton said drugs had been a problem for him since he was 12 or 13.

“I need to make better choices, find a job and a place to live,” he said.

Also Friday, an Edwardsburg woman was sentenced to probation, jail and community service for third offense drunk driving.

Lindsey Renee Scott, 35, of Beach Drive in Edwardsburg, pleaded guilty to third offense drunk driving and was sentenced to two years’ probation, 90 days in jail with the last 60 on tether, 480 hours of community service, $2,308 in fines and costs and $260 restitution. Her 30 days in jail can be served on weekends.

The incident occurred May 21 when police found her car stuck on the railroad tracks at S. Keefe and Diamond Cove in Cassopolis. Her blood alcohol level was .223, nearly three times the legal limit.

“Some people can be social drinkers. Others pick up a drunk driving charge and stop, and others can’t drink period,” defense attorney Greg Feldman said. “She’s the latter. She can’t be around alcohol, and she needs to get what treatment she needs, or it could be deadly in the future.”