CASSOPOLIS — What Dustin Dixon thought was just drunken foolishness turned out to be far more serious.
So serious it landed him a felony conviction and a probation sentence on tether.
Dixon, a 34-year-old Dowagiac man, was intoxicated while riding in his truck last October when a police officer pulled over the auto. The driver, who was also intoxicated, was arrested on the scene.
When the officer asked Dixon to get out of the car, he refused and said he had a bomb in the car and a hand grenade on his person.
He also cursed at the officer and resisted arrest, according to arrest reports.
Cass County Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Dixon Friday to three years of probation with the first 180 days to be spent on department of corrections tether.
In his comments, Dixon said the threats were just a joke.
“I apologize for my actions,” he said. “I’m sorry a joke could go that far.”
“Some jokes are taken very seriously,” Dodge said.
Assistant Prosecutor Tiffiny Vohwinkle said Dixon turned a “routine traffic stop into a serious and scary situation.”
If Dixon, who has five felonies and 14 misdemeanors on his record, violates his probation, he is likely to face prison, Dodge said.
Also sentenced Friday for a similar offense was Edwardsburg resident Crystal Vance, who, while intoxicated, locked herself in a hotel in Dowagiac and refused to leave.
When police arrived, she was “uncooperative” and “combative,” Dodge said.
Vance, 36, was sentenced to one year in jail with credit for 104 days already served.