The other half of what the county prosecutor labeled “the Bonnie and Clyde of meth activity in Cass County” is following his wife to prison for operating a drug lab in the city limits.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 44-year-old Brent Gillesby to a minimum of five years to a maximum of 30 years in prison during his sentencing hearing Friday morning in Cass County court for five methamphetamine-related charges, including operating a lab involving methamphetamine.

The Dowagiac man had pleaded guilty to the drug counts on Oct. 12.

Gillesby’s wife and co-defendant in the case, Tiffany, was sentenced to a four-year prison term by Dodge during her appearance in court last week.

The charges against Brent Gillesby followed his arrest back on July 22, after detectives with the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team executed a search warrant on the residence of he and his wife, located on Haines Street. The police uncovered three one pot methamphetamine labs while going through the home, along with gas canisters and other components to produce the substance, Dodge said.

The couple showed up on the drug team’s radar earlier that month, while the task force was monitoring the purchase of Sudafed, an over-the-counter drug commonly used to produce methamphetamine, at businesses throughout the area. Detectives found out that the couple had been purchasing a large quantity of the medicine from stores in both Michigan and Indiana, spurring their investigation.

Both Brent and Tiffany admitted to producing methamphetamine to police shortly after their arrest, Dodge said.

“You indicated at the time of your guilty plea to these charges that you were the primary manufacturer of methamphetamine,” Dodge said. “This was confirmed by your wife Tiffany, who indicated you had asked her to purchase Sudafed…she would purchase it, you would make it and then both of you would use it.”

The couple’s crimes were a result of a relapsing from drug treatment, Dodge said. The two had both served time for prior methamphetamine-related charges, most recently completing a stint on the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation program for a 2013 conviction.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz pointed out the defendant’s history with meth, asking that the court sentence Gillesby to a minimum six-year prison term as recommended by the department of corrections.

“The public needs to be protected from this very dangerous activity, and it is just that, whether it’s the danger of the lab itself or the havoc it wreaks in the way of property crimes and crimes of violence,” Fitz said.

Gillesby’s attorney, Daniel French, argued that his client should receive a similar sentence as his wife, saying that Gillesby had benefited from the treatment services he received from previous sentences.

Though Dodge deviated slightly from the state’s recommendation in his prison sentence, the judge lamented the fact the Dowagiac man had relapsed following his completion of probation earlier this year.

“I’ve always felt you were a bright guy, well spoken, with a lot of ability,” Dodge said. “This addiction was just destroying your life.”

Gillesby was given credit for 115 days already served.

Also sentenced Friday:

• David Longanecker, 30, of Edwardsburg, to 180 days in jail for resisting a police officer.

• Joseph Richards, 27, of Elkhart, to 18 months of probation for possession of heroin, less than 25 grams.

• Richard Kruszewski, 21, of Granger, to 120 days in jail and 18 months of probation for possession of a dangerous weapon, fleeing from a police officer and operating a motor vehicle with a high blood-alcohol level.

• Susan Burnworth, 66, of Edwardsburg, to three years of probation for welfare fraud, over $500.

• Selena Smith, of Dowagiac, to a minimum of two years to a maximum of 15 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine.