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NILES — A Dowagiac man was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court on meth and malicious destruction of property charges stemming from an incident in Niles Township last May.

Lucas William Bennett, 39, of Dowagiac, pleaded guilty to use of meth and malicious destruction of property $200 to $1,000 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for three days served and $175 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred May 19 in Niles Township.

Defense attorney Nicholas Hogue said it was very clear that Bennett has a drug problem and that he’s been going to counseling. He said Bennett has gotten his life back to where he needs to be and is in better shape that he had been in the past.

Judge Smith said the hardest part of her job is to figure out how many chances to give defendants. She noted that Bennett has been on two recent probations and that she saw no reason to duplicate other courts’ efforts. She said it’s up to him to address his addiction.

“There needs to be a sanction, I can’t just look the other way,” she said.

Kevin Alan Critzer, 44, of Niles, pleaded guilty to uttering and publishing and was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for 43 days served and $4,421.89 in fines, costs and restitution. He was sentenced to concurrent 60 day jail terms for two contempt of court charges for failing to appear for previous court hearings.

The incident occurred Nov. 18, 2019 in Bertrand Township when he wrote a check on a bank account he no longer had access to.

Terry Lyn Wiltfong, 45, of Niles, pleaded guilty to possession of narcotics/cocaine and second offense use of meth and was sentenced to two years probation, 200 days in jail with credit for 103 days served and $796 in fines and costs. She can serve the remainder of her jail term in the Tri-Cap program.

The incident occurred March 28 in Niles Township.