With Cass County Judge Michael Dodge only moments away from delivering from his sentence Friday, Tommy Suggs Jr. comments to the judge and the rest of the courtroom were measured, polite even, given his circumstances.

Apologizing to the court and his family for his criminal behavior, Suggs expressed he wanted to get his life back on track after paying his dues to society.

“I can prove to myself, and to everybody in this world, that I can be a changed young man,” Suggs said. “I can go back to school. I see myself living right, getting a good job in education so in the future I can help people out.”

The judge commended Suggs for his commitment before handing down his ruling. Dodge sentenced the 19-year-old Cassopolis man to 270 days in county jail and two years of probation on charges of breaking and entering and larceny. Suggs had pleaded guilty to the two charges during a previous appearance in court, on Sept. 10.

Suggs was arrested back on Aug. 30. That afternoon, while walking outside the Woodlands Behavioral Health Center in Cassopolis, the man smashed in one of the building’s windows.

“You didn’t leave it at that,” Dodge said. “You entered the building, went it and stole some cash.”

Compounding to the seriousness of his actions was the fact that Suggs was on probation at the time, also for breaking and entering. The circumstances of that crime were similar to his most recent offense, with him using a hammer to smash open the window of a downtown Cassopolis business, stealing property from the inside.

“This clearly a disturbing trend that will soon result in you receiving a significant prison sentence if it doesn’t stop,” Dodge said. “You have an impulse like this, you need to stop and think about what you’re about to do.”

Sugg’s attorney, Robert Drake, said that his client had a number of mental health issues. The lawyer asked Dodge to accept the department of correction’s recommendation for a sentence that required treatment of his condition.

“This is something that Suggs did, at lunchtime, at Woodlands, with people all over across the street,” Drake said. “This is not the action a malicious criminal, that is action of somebody who has obvious deficits that need to be addressed.”

The judge agreed with the recommendation, ordering Suggs to serve the last 120 days of his jail sentence at the Twin County Probation Center, where he will be enrolled in their mental health program.

Suggs was given 49 days credit for time already served.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Danny Ray Northrop Jr., 26, of Edwardsburg, to one year in jail for second-degree home invasion and resisting arrest.

• Anthony Lee Schar, 26, of Dowagiac, to two years of probation and 187 days in jail for possession of methamphetamines and marijuana.

• Bobby Eugene Jasper, 28, of Cassopolis, to 180 days in jail for fleeing from police.

• Jeffery Daniel Keys, 17, of Dowagiac, to 90 days in jail for domestic violence.

• Christopher Allen Franklin Jr., 28, of Cassopolis, to two years of probation and one year in jail for operating while intoxicated and fleeing from police.