A Niles man who has repeatedly been charged with breaking and entering was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trail Court to up to 48 months in the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Mark Canada McMiller, 37, was charged with first-degree attempted home invasion after he used a woman’s keys that had been left in her front door to try and enter the home in the 1000 block of Sunrise Lane.
On Oct. 26, 2016, the victim, Krystal Lipscomb, noticed that her keys were missing. Lipscomb told police that she became concerned when she saw a suspicious man hanging around outside the apartment.
At 1:40 a.m. the victim heard the key turning in the doorknob. She locked the door and called
the police.
Authorities responded to the victim’s call and said that they saw McMiller exiting the apartment building. McMiller claimed that he had just been looking for someone and found the victim’s keys on the ground. An airsoft gun modeled to look like a pistol was also found nearby in the bushes. McMiller said in the police report that the airsoft gun did not belong to him.

As he stood before the court on Monday, Assistant Prosecutor Cortney O’Malley-Septoski said his record was alarming. She cited two occasions where McMiller broke into females’ bedrooms through the window.
“His intent is very concerning,” she said.
McMiller apologized before the judge.
“I am sorry for my actions,” McMiller said. “I get in trouble a lot.”
McMiller’s defense attorney said his client wanted to get help in a group therapy setting.
McMiller’s criminal history includes five prison sentences, four jail sentences and two terms of probation, but probation was revoked both times. Pasula said nothing about McMiller’s actions showed that he wanted to change his behavior.
“You need control and self discipline,” Pasula said. “Obviously you do not get it.”
Pasula also addressed the airsoft gun, which was found in the bushes near the apartment. The police report stated that authorities saw McMiller drop something in the bush, where they later found the airsoft gun. The orange tip at the front of the weapon had been removed.
“Usually when you find a gun with no orange tip on it, it means you are trying to lead someone to believe that it is in fact a pistol,” Pasula said.
McMiller said the gun replica was not his and that this was an error in the report.
Upon receiving his sentence, McMiller stomped out of the courtroom and released a string of profanities.