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NILES — A South Bend man who got into a fight with two people at the Niles Wal-Mart and pulled a gun on them inside the store was sentenced to probation and jail Thursday in Berrien County Trial Court.

Brandon Jay Vaughn, 33, of South Bend, pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to two years probation, 10 days in jail with credit for four days served and $658 in fines and costs. He must have an anger management assessment and forfeit the gun.

The incident occurred Oct. 4, 2022 at the Wal-Mart in Niles Township. A car he was a passenger in nearly hit an older couple walking into the store and he and his girlfriend later got into an altercation with them inside the store at which time he pulled out a gun and pointed it at them.

One of the victims spoke before the sentencing and said she continues to have nightmares about the incident and doesn’t understand why Vaughn and his girlfriend acted like they did.

Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Kate Arnold noted that Vaughn had admitted pointing the gun at the couple to frighten them. “This was at 2 p.m. on a weekday afternoon,” she said. “This situation has really shaken them up.”

Briseno said the altercation was not indicative of Vaughn’s character and that he has a good job and stable housing. “The entire experience was a great learning experience for him,” she said. “We have had a lot of discussion about self defense and using firearms. He understands how scary and frightening the situation was and has remorse for his actions.”

Vaughn said he is deeply remorseful but gave a different account of what happened. He said he wasn’t aware of his girlfriend nearly hitting the couple and first realized something had happened when the man came up and smacked the car. Inside the store, he said he pulled a gun when his girlfriend hit her head when she started fighting with the woman.

Judge Smith said she was concerned that Vaughn and his girlfriend confronted the couple inside the store after the incident in the parking lot. “You should have let it go, your girlfriend didn’t have to confront them and you took the next step and pulled out your gun,” she said.

“You may have been concerned about your girlfriend’s safety but she started it by taking items out of their cart and throwing them,” the judge added. “My concern is to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Your reaction was way over the top.”

Judge Smith said she gave him a shorter jail sentence so that he won’t lose his job.