CASSOPOLIS — Two Cass County men who damaged more than 70 tombstones and memorials at a Dowagiac cemetery in December were both sentenced Friday to 270 days in jail.

Enos Butrick, 19, of Dowagiac, and Clayton Warren, 23, of Marcellus, must also do 200 hours of community service at Riverside Cemetery, where they did almost $17,000 worth of damage Dec. 2.

Assistant Prosecutor Kirk Metzger said this senseless type of crime couldn’t be tolerated.

Judge Michael Dodge said the two men should be ashamed of themselves.

“How would you feel if it was your mother or father buried there?” Dodge asked during sentencing hearings at Cass County Circuit Court.

Warren gets credit for 69 days already served, while Butrick gets credit for 81 days served. Both must jointly pay restitution in the amount of $16,984.

Dowagiac City Councilmen Bob Schuur and Jim Dodd attended the sentencing hearings.

Afterward Schuur, who also serves as chairman of the cemetery board, said the sentence was fair.

“The saddest thing is some of the tombstones will never be the same,” he said.

Dodd was pleased with the community service portion of the sentence.

“We need the help out there,” he said.

Schuur said it would be spring before the cemetery is fully repaired.

Some of the 76 damaged tombstones or memorials were more than 100 years old.

Butrick also admitted to damaging windows at Elks Lodge 889.

He was ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution.

Butrick and Warren were placed on probation for two years.

Both apologized for their actions in court.