CASSOPOLIS — A Dowagiac man with a history of assaultive behavior will spend an extended stay in a Cass County jail cell, after violently resisting police officers attempting to arrest him for trying to break into a vehicle this past summer.

Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman sentenced 24-year-old Jason Lee Ottinger, of Courtland Street in Dowagiac, to 365 days in Cass County Jail during his hearing Friday morning at the Cassopolis courthouse. Ottinger was punished on two counts of resisting/obstructing arrest, as well as one count of possession of methamphetamine, counts that he pleaded guilty to during a prior appearance in court on Oct. 2.

The charges against the Dowagiac man stem from a search of his residence conducted by Dowagiac police officers on May 22, after authorities received a complaint about a stolen bicycle. During the investigation, police found Ottinger in possession of a snorting tube that contained a white, powdery residue; when questioned about it, the man admitted to police that he had used methamphetamine several days before. A lab test later confirmed that the residue inside the tube was indeed meth, Herman said.

The officers did not apprehend Ottinger during the initial search. The man agreed to turn himself over to police when a warrant was issued for his arrest.

A few weeks later, on June 15, Dowagiac officers responded to a complaint about someone attempting to break into a vehicle on West Telegraph Street, with a neighbor identifying Ottinger as the culprit, who had fled from the scene on foot.

Police located Ottinger kneeling next to a vehicle on Courtland Street a short time later. Although the officers were able to handcuff him and place him under arrest, when Ottinger was told he was being transported to the county jailhouse he attempted to escape the squad car by kicking out one of the windows, Herman said.

“When the officers opened the door to prevent you from breaking the window, you began kicking the officers,” Herman said. “You were held down by the officers until you were calmed down. When you stood up, you again attempted to break loose. You tried to assault [one of the officers] and yelled at him [that] you hated him and that you were going to kill him.”

At that point, the officers held Ottinger down again, cuffed his feet and successfully transported him to jail. Both officers received minor injuries to their knees and shoulders due to Ottinger’s resistance, Herman said.

The judge pointed out that the Dowagiac man has admitted to having issues with drugs and anger, and has been convicted three times for malicious destruction of property and six times for assaultive behavior, including for domestic violence and resisting arrest. Last year, he was placed on two years of probation for a pair of resisting arrest charges, which was later revoked, resulting in jail time.

Given his record and previous failure under court supervision, the judge said that he did not believe another stint on probation would be sufficient punishment for Ottinger’s latest string of offensives.

“If you want help for your anger problems or your drug problems, you can get that in jail,” Herman said.

Ottinger was given credit for 169 days already served behind bars. He also had his driver’s license suspended for six months due to the drug offense.