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NILES — A Niles man who stole items from Lowe’s will be spending the next six months in jail. 

Aron Thomas Brigham, 44, of Niles, pleaded guilty to first-degree retail fraud and was sentenced to 180 days in jail with credit for two days served. He must pay $198 in fines and costs and $847 in restitution to Lowe’s. 

The incident occurred Feb. 10 at the Lowe’s store in Niles Township. The jail sentence can be served in any penal institution as he also is facing charges in Indiana.  

Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Vigansky said Brigham’s record speaks for itself. He noted that Brigham has committed assault, theft and property crimes in both Michigan and Indiana.

“He’s committed crimes involving large sums of money, I think there should be a substantial amount of incarceration,” he said. 

Defense attorney Shayne Williams said Brigham was homeless at the time of the incident and was sorry for his actions. Brigham apologized and said he wasn’t proud of his actions. 

“I understand falling on hard times and being hungry,” Judge Smith said. “But this is your ninth larceny and you have a behavior pattern of stealing things.” 

“It doesn’t appear that any services we’ve provided you in the past have helped you stop stealing,” she added. “If nothing works, we have no choice but to lock you up. You’re not getting the message. You’ve got to stop doing this unless you want to spend more time locked up.” 

She told Brigham that he could have gone to prison Monday and warned him that any future convictions could result in a prison sentence.