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NILES — A Niles man was sentenced to prison Monday in Berrien County Trial Court.

Aidan Michael Aguilar, 25, of Niles, pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree fleeing and eluding police and was sentenced to two concurrent terms of 12 to 24 months in prison. He must pay $396 in fines and costs. He has credit for 72 days served.

The two incidents occurred April 12, 2022 and May 17, 2022 in Niles.

Aguilar said he wasn’t aware of how badly he had hurt his family and friends by his actions. He said he knows that he will be spending more time in jail or prison if keeps going down the road he’s been going on.

“I hope you have now realized the seriousness of your crimes on the community,” Berrien County Trial Judge Jennifer Smith said. “If you want to be a good father, you wouldn’t drive recklessly through neighborhoods and put other people’s children at risk. It’s not just people you love who are impacted.”

Judge Smith noted that Aguilar has already accumulated a number of convictions at his young age.

She said she was concerned that he ran from police a second time within a month or so last year. Aguilar said that it wasn’t an excuse but that he was scared because he faced charges in Indiana and also has pending resisting and obstructing charges in Cass County.

“It was dangerous to run,” the judge said. “You have to face up to what you’ve done and deal with it … You will have time to think about what you’ve done. You’re coming to a crossroads where you have to decide if you want to spend time with them or spend time away. This will give you time to think about how you can change.”