Judge sentences him to five years minimum

A Cassopolis man will be spending the next few years in prison after repeatedly stabbing a family member at a party gone horribly off-track.

Cass County Circuit Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Charles Ray Eubanks Jr., 43, to a minimum term of five years in prison, with a maximum of 15 years, during his sentencing hearing that took place Friday morning inside the county Law and Court Building in Cassopolis.

Eubanks had pleaded guilty to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault with intent of causing great bodily harm during an earlier appearance in court, on Jan. 5.

The charges stem from a fight that broke out between Eubanks and his brother-in-law, Mark Perkins, of Dowagiac, during a party on July 20 at residence on Main Street in Vandalia. The two men were engaged in an argument that escalated into violence, with Eubanks stabbing the other man twice with a pocket knife he had in his possession, piercing the lining of his abdominal cavity as well as lacerating the overlying tissue of his liver.

“Anytime you stab somebody with a knife, you never know what’s going to happen, what you’re going to hit or what kind of damage you might inflict,” Dodge said.

Perkins was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries and was released the same night. The assault has resulted in some long-term damage to the Dowagiac man’s urinary system, though, said Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz.

The prosecutor asked that the judge sentence the defendant at the top of the sentencing guideline range for his actions, claiming that after the stabbing Eubanks fled from the scene, and attempted to stab himself in order to feign a self-defense claim.

“This defendant is a liar and a would-be killer,” Fitz said.

Eubanks’ defense attorney, Daniel French, said that part of the blame for the incident rested with the victim in the incident. The argument originally was instigated after Perkins asked the Cassopolis man to help him cook meth, which he refused to do, French said.

“While my client’s actions are certainly abominable, and are contrary to justice, it didn’t happen in a vacuum,” French said. “It takes two to tango.”

Eubanks was charged as a habitual offender for the assault. The man has an extensive prior criminal history, charged with breaking and entering, stalking and assault and battery, among other crimes in the past, Fitz said.

“He’s not a respecter of police, he’s not a respecter of persons, and he needs to be held accountable,” the prosecutor said.

In his remarks to the judge, Eubanks apologized to his brother-in-law for what he had put him through that night.

“I do not wish any harm on him, even at the time, because he had to go home to my nephews,” he said. “I’m just sorry that it happened.”

Eubanks was given 232 days credit for time already served.