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CASSOPOLIS — A Niles man was sentenced to probation and jail for an incident that occurred earlier this year in Dowagiac.

        Terrel Kenneth Ward, 36, of Lake Street in Niles, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to two years probation, 365 days in jail with credit for 229 days served and $2,328 in fines and costs.

        The incident occurred March 19 on Riverside Drive in Dowagiac. Police found him with drugs and a knife.

        Defense attorney Gregory Feldman noted that Ward didn’t have “the correct tools” to deal with the issues he was going through at a low point in his life. Ward said he wants to turn his life around and told Judge Herman that he had tried to follow Herman’s advice to him when he was a juvenile.

        “You’re 36 years old and this is your first criminal conviction,” Judge Herman said. “Maybe what I talked to you about when you were 12 helped you … Bad things happen to everybody, it’s how you handle adversity in your life and whether you use it as a positive or a negative. You have to know what your triggers are.”