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CASSOPOLIS — A Dowagiac man who failed to register as a sex offender was sentenced to a year in jail Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Shelton Harley Cooper, 34, of Dowagiac, pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender was sentenced to 365 days in jail with credit for 74 days served and $1,608 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred Jan. 12 at the Family Dollar store in Dowagiac. Police were called for an unwanted intoxicated person in the store. When he was arrested, police found that he was non-compliant as a sex offender out of Oregon.

Judge Mark Herman noted that Cooper previously failed to register in 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2019. “It doesn’t seem like probation and a few days in jail is driving the point home,” he said. “You would think you would get the point after the first time. You don’t seem to think it’s a big deal or that it applies to you.”

“You’re required to register whether you think you should or not,” the judge added. “If you want to stay in a store, act like a grown adult. It all seems to have been about you. The next time you don’t register, it might mean prison.”

In other sentencings:

• Jordan Patrick Donaldson, 33, of Kalamazoo, formerly of Cassopolis, pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault and was sentenced to two years probation, credit for 64 days served and $2,328 in fines and costs. The incident occurred Jan. 30 in Cassopolis when he assaulted his girlfriend with a broom.
• Christina Lynne Stopyak, 37, of Thompsonville, Mich., pleaded guilty to possession of meth and was sentenced to 18 months probation, credit for two days served and $2,148 in fines and costs. The incident occurred Oct. 14, 2021 in Edwardsburg.
• Eric Dion Weiss, 52, of Edwardsburg, pleaded guilty to possession of meth under an 11 month delayed sentencing and was sentenced to credit for one day served and $1,548 in fines and costs. The incident occurred Oct. 26, 2022 in Edwardsburg. The charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he is successful on probation.