By JESSICA SIEFF
Niles Daily Star

Four Niles High School students stood before Berrien County Trial Court Judge Scott Schofield Tuesday and narrowly avoided felony convictions permanently attached to their records.

Nick Hawkins, 17; Elizabeth Howard, 17; Elizabeth Valentine, 17; and Timothy Potter, 18, all of Niles, each received 13 months probation, 56 hours of community service, court costs, fines and any restitution as they faced felony charges of breaking-and-entering with intent to damage property more than $1,000.

Niles City Police responded on May 13 to a report of unidentified subjects breaking glass inside the abandoned National Standard building at 801 Howard St.

According to police, officers Chad Mitchell and Kevin Kosten were able to gain access to the building after climbing an 8-foot-high chain-link fence, utilizing a fire escape ladder and climbing down an elevator shaft, where they were able to hear several individuals talking and breaking glass.

Hawkins, Howard, Valentine and Potter were among six individuals who were arrested on site. The two remaining subjects taken into custody were juveniles.

Schofield sentenced the four together Tuesday after a late appearance by Potter, whose tardiness required a court recess so he could be brought up to speed.

Schofield, questioning whether the 18-year-old was taking his situation seriously enough, reiterated the severity of matter.

“This is an important place,” he said, “where important things are decided.”

The charges faced by each were felonies that could carry a term of 10 years in jail.

According to the police report filed about the incident, police were also on site at 901 Howard St., the location of the now-abandoned United Fixtures building where a breaking-and-entering had occurred and glass had also been broken.

It is unclear whether or not the four arrested were also responsible for the damage at the United Fixtures building, as law enforcement blacked out many areas of the provided police report.

Prosecutor Steve Pierangeli said the Niles High School juniors were on the receiving end of a significant opportunity.

Under the state’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, Howard, Hawkins, Potter and Valentine were eligible for a sentence that would keep a felony conviction from impacting their records.

Pierangeli said he hoped all four would “take this probation very seriously because they’re getting an opportunity to work this off,” avoiding a conviction that would “drastically” impact their opportunities later in life.

“I’d just like to apologize to the company,” Howard said. “I apologize for everything that I did.”

Valentine also offered an apology to the building’s owners and said she was thankful for the opportunity to “redeem” herself.

After Hawkins apologized for taking up so much time with the incident, Schofield told the four they presented the court with an important use of time.

“This may be a very valuable and useful expenditure of time on all our parts,” the judge said.

Should the four get themselves back on track and not end up in any further trouble, “all of the time and money being spent on you will all be worth it,” he said.

Schofield questioned what led four students who appeared not to have a history of getting in trouble down such a destructive path.

“I am wondering what went on with the four of you because up to that point you were all doing well in school,” he said.

But he found few answers.

Hawkins, he pointed out, had been receiving relatively good grades in school until the second semester of this year, when his marks seemed to drop sharply along with a number of unexcused absences.

“It’s hard to learn and get good grades when you’re not in school,” he said.

One by one, Schofield addressed each offender, telling Potter that though it seemed he had a “less than perfect” family life, “the world is full of people who have risen above the challenges their imperfect childhood has presented to them.”

The situation, Schofield said, was quite different with Valentine, who expressed she hoped to possibly join the military and go to medical school.

“You have had more opportunities than many,” Schofield said, adding “people who have been abundantly blessed” have a responsibility to use their opportunities in positive ways.
Each were offered the chance to work off $700 of a total $1,330 in court costs and fines, not including restitution, by working through an added 70 hours of community service.
Schofield said the high school juniors would also have to ensure they stayed in good standing at school.

“None of you are going to get off probation until you get your high school diploma,” he said.