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NILES — An Army veteran who had been wounded in combat was sentenced to prison Monday in Berrien County Trial Court on charges stemming from an incident last fall when he shot an acquaintance.

David Alan-Eugene Jordan, 35, of Niles, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 76 months to 10 years and 36 months to five years. He has credit for 177 days already served and must pay $266 in fines and costs.

That incident occurred Oct. 21, 2023 in Niles Township. A man was shot in the neck in the incident and had life threatening injuries. Jordan was also sentenced in two other cases stemming from a Oct. 15, 2023 incident in Niles Township.

He pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition by a felon and was sentenced to 23 months to five years in prison with credit for 177 days served and $198 in fines and costs. He pleaded guilty to resisting and obstructing police and was sentenced to 16 months to two years in prison with credit for 177 days served and $198 in fines and costs.

All four prison terms will be served concurrently.

Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Vigansky said Jordan was lucky that he wasn’t facing a murder charge.

“His record appears to be pretty horrendous with assaultive and drug offenses,” he said. “A lot of his record has to do with substance abuse, he served a prison term previously for home invasion.”

Defense attorney Carri Briseno noted that Jordan can trace his substance abuse problems to the medications he was given after being hit by shrapnel in a mortar attack when he was serving overseas. He has also been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

Briseno said that Jordan wants to turn his life around and deal with his substance abuse issues. She noted that all three people involved in the shooting incident were using drugs.

“It’s not his intention to spend the rest of his life in prison,” she said. “He wants to open a tattoo shop and maintain his connection with his daughter and family.”

“If he could go back, he would do everything differently including starting to use drugs again,” she added. “He knows how to be successful and he knows he’s going to prison.”

Jordan apologized to the other two people involved in the incident including the man he shot.

“I wouldn’t have made those decisions if I was sober,” he said.

“This was a very serious offense, you shot a man and almost killed him,” Berrien County Trial Judge Jennifer Smith said. “Even if you were using drugs, the fact of the matter is that you shot a man … This was very serious, the man almost died and it was in an area with multiple homes.”