Assailant strangled, brutally beat victim

If Dowagiac’s Arthur Turner Jr. had been devastated by the fact he was sentenced to spend the next five years in a Michigan prison cell, he chose not to show any signs of it.

Seconds after hearing his verdict, Turner shifted around in his chair to face the audience sitting in the pews behind him, declaring, “I love you,” to the family members witnessing his sentencing hearing Friday morning in Cassopolis.

“Alright, brother, love you,” was the response one of them gave in return, briefly clapping as Turner was escorted out of the courtroom by the bailiff.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Turner, 25, to a minimum term of five years to a maximum term of 20 years in prison, on charges of assault by strangulation, interfering with an electronic communication device resulting in injury, aggravated domestic violence and interfering with a witness. A Cass County jury convicted Turner on these charges during a trial that concluded July 8.

The charges stem from a domestic assault incident that occurred around 2:30 a.m. Nov. 29 during an argument between Turner and his girlfriend, Randi Green, at their residence in Dowagiac. In the midst of their fight, Turner began to violently assault Green, beating her about the head and body in what Cass County prosecutors described as a “bloody melee.”

“You also began strangling her at one point during the assault, because she had gotten outside and began screaming,” Dodge said. “You were trying to shut her up, but it was serious enough that if you continued long enough you could have killed her.”

Police were dispatched to the residence after receiving a phone call from a bystander who had heard Green’s cries for help. After being taken into custody, Turner continued to contact the victim, calling and writing her in an attempt to persuade her not to testify at his trial.

The attack left Green battered and bruised throughout her body, with several wounds requiring stiches to close, Dodge said. Green also suffered mental trauma as a result of the indicant, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik.

“How can you not come out on the other side of this type of assault without significant psychological problems?” he said.

The prosecutor also pointed out the defendant’s history of assaultive behavior, which began when he was still a juvenile, and the fact that Turner continues to deny that played any part in the attack as reasons for the judge to sentence the Dowagiac man near the top of sentencing guidelines.

“He is going to present a significant risk to society as soon as he gets out,” Machnik said.

Turner declined the opportunity to speak on his own behalf when asked by the judge.

Turner was given 266 days credit for time already served.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Kristina Lee Dawkins, 44, of Dowagiac, to 18 months of probation for two counts possession of an analogue substance.

• Kurt DeYoung, 46, of Cassopolis, to 210 days in jail and two years of probation for two counts of third-degree home invasion.