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 CASSOPOLIS — A Niles man who threatened a neighbor with a gun was sentenced to jail Friday in Cass County Circuit Court. 

Darious Dean Hradel, 21, of Lilac Avenue in Niles, pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 300 days in jail with credit for nine days served. He must pay $1,548 in fines and costs. 

The incident occurred March 22, 2022 in Howard Township near Niles. Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman noted that Hradel pointed a gun at a neighbor after the neighbor and Hradel’s father were arguing about the Hradels’ dogs being on the neighbor’s property. 

“The neighbor said to keep the dogs on your property and you came out of the house with a long gun which you pointed at him,” Judge Herman said. “He called police and you had left by the time they came … The truly concerning fact is that you pointed a gun at someone who was no threat to your family over a dispute about your dog running loose.” 

Hradel also faces new armed robbery charges from a separate incident. Judge Herman said the attempted assault with a dangerous weapon case was Hradel’s eighth criminal chase with five of them coming when he was a juvenile.  

The judge said he didn’t think probation was appropriate. “The common thread is that in every one you violated your probation, that doesn’t make the court believe you take probation very seriously,” he said.  

Judge Herman noted that Hradel reportedly said “you need to remember that” to the neighbor when he came out pointing the gun. “You said ‘you need to remember that’, but I want you to remember this: if you point a gun at somebody in my county, you’re going to hail,” he said. “If you fire the gun, you could be going to prison.”