A single punch proved very costly for a Dowagiac man with a long history of violent behavior.
Forty-one-year-old Thomas Mosier Jr. received 34 months in prison for retaliating against a witness by punching an inmate in the face at the Cass County Jail on Jan. 12.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said the act was so violent it caused the victim to bleed and urinate himself.
“A riot could’ve broken out from these actions, and who knows what could’ve happened from there,” Fitz said.
“The public is just not safe from this individual … he’s a volatile, volatile man.”
Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge said during Friday’s sentencing hearing Mosier punched the man because he believed he was responsible for earlier charges brought against him. At the time, Mosier was being housed at the jail on charges stemming from when police found crack-cocaine and firearms at his residence on Indian Lake Road in Dowagiac on Dec. 7, 2011.
Mosier was also sentenced Friday to a minimum of two years in prison with credit for 192 days served for the drug and gun charges.
Mosier will serve both terms consecutively, meaning he will be in the Michigan Department of Corrections for at least the next four years.
Mosier said in court he has made amends with his victim and regrets his actions.
He apologized for embarrassing his family.
Fitz said Mosier has three prior assault convictions.
Dodge said one of those convictions resulted in a four-year prison sentence in Cass County.