In a statement she read aloud to the courtroom, Kelly Groves told the audience that she came within inches of losing her life one night last December, as it was that small amount of distance that separated her from the bullets whizzing past her into the wall behind her.

As if this situation wasn’t horrifying enough, Groves said the person behind the trigger was someone she trusted and loved — her boyfriend, Eric Maki.

Ten months separated from those awful memories, Groves received an opportunity to confront her former lover, moments before he received judgment for his actions Friday morning.

“For two years I tried to love you, but you made that impossible,” Groves said. “Love is shown through actions and words, but through your actions I’ve received nothing but pain and
heartache, both mental and physical.”

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced Maki, 52, to one year behind bars in Cass County, on top of two years worth of probation, on charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and assault with a dangerous weapon. Maki previously appeared in court on Sept. 2, where he pleaded no contest to the charges.

According to Dodge, the incident between the two occurred on Dec. 10, at Maki’s residence on Baron Lake Road, where the couple was living together. According to the account Groves gave to the court, the two got into an argument, resulting in Maki leaving the house for a brief time before returning in an intoxicated state.

“She claims that you got extremely agitated, and that you pulled out a gun and fired it in her general direction,” Dodge said. “Then, you hit her several times in the head with that handgun.”

Groves later received treatment at Lakeland Hospital in Niles for her injuries, which included several bruises to her arms, head and hands, several large cuts on her left hand, and several broken bones also in her left hand.

Her account differs from the one the court received from Maki, though. The Niles man claimed that she assaulted him first, requiring him to use force to defend himself. He claimed that his firearm discharged accidently, with the gun getting dropped on a barstool after it slipped from his hand while pulling it out of his pants.

Maki also claimed to have fallen during the incident, hitting his head on a stack of tiles on the floor, losing consciousness briefly. Because of this, Maki claimed that he couldn’t remember portions of what happened.

“As you read in the report, my client is in denial about what he did,” said Richard Sammis, Maki’s lawyer. “I think that’s based on the fact that he believes he couldn’t have done some of these things. It’s not part of his character, it’s not part of history.”

Dodge admitted that the court had no way of determining what exactly went on that night, due to the fact that the case never went to trial. As such, Dodge based his sentence on the evidence presented, as

well the plea agreement Maki made with the prosecution.

“The bottom line is, there certainly was an argument and a fight,” Dodge said. “You were carrying a handgun and it was discharged very close to the victim, next to the chair where she was sitting.”

Maki was given two days credit for time already served.