A Cassopolis man’s self-confessed love for methamphetamine has resulted in him receiving yet another extended stay in a Michigan prison.

Cass County Circuit Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 29-year-old Gabriel Stephen Odlum to a minimum of six years and a maximum of 30 years in prison on Friday, for several drug related charges, including manufacture of methamphetamine, operating/maintaining a meth lab and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. Odlum pleaded guilty to all counts on Aug. 14.

The charges against Odlum stem from his arrest on May 14, when he was taken into custody following a search of his mother’s residence on Brownsville Road in Cassopolis by officers with the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team and Michigan Department of Corrections. During the police’s search of the residence, they discovered Odlum had been operating a meth lab inside the home.

The police visit was due to the fact that Odlum was still on parole for a prior prison sentence imposed by the Cass County courts in 2007, also for meth-related charges, Dodge said. At the time of his arrest, he only had six days left on parole.

“You’d been released on parole for three felony convictions after you served the six-and-a-half year prison sentence,” Dodge said. “It didn’t take long, and here we go again, you’re back in front of the court with methamphetamine charges again.”

Odlum had another prior arrest for meth, in 2001, which the court imposed a jail sentence for.

“By your own admission, you say that you’re in love with crystal meth and that you can’t kick the habit,” Dodge said. “Making it, using it; you fell right back into your old, bad habits of doing that.”

Given his continued use and manufacture of the substance, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik asked the judge to impose a lengthy prison sentence on the defendant.

“He has learned to play the game, to tell the court exactly what it wants to hear to minimize his sentence,” Machnik said. “I think he’s not learned anything.”

Odlum hasn’t been learning from his mistakes, due to his addiction to the drug and lifestyle surrounding it, said Cassopolis man’s attorney, Daniel French. The lawyer argued that his client should receive some form of treatment for his addiction, rather than being shipped off again to prison.

The defendant also asked for some form of drug counseling from the judge, telling the court that he has been addicted to meth since he was 14 years old and is ready to kick the habit and get his life back on track.

“I can go back to jail; I’m fine with that,” Odlum said. “It’s something I know how to do. Living in society with the tools to fight this addiction is something I don’t have.”

Also sentenced Friday:

• Dustin Michael Moran, 23, of Edwardsburg, to 18 months of probation for methamphetamine-related charges.

• David Scott Overholt, 46, of Bristol, Indiana, to two years of probation and 270 days in jail for breaking and entering and three counts of larceny.

• Melissa Joy Bechtol, 32, of Edwardsburg, to two years of probation for methamphetamine-related charges.

• Johnna Nicole Zeytoun, 38, of Jones, to five years in prison for two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.

• William Isaac Vermilyer, 25, of Cassopolis, to 18 months of probation for attempted assault with a dangerous weapon.

• Travis Eugene Bryant, 26, of Jones, to five years in prison for two counts of criminal sexual conduct.