By DEBRA HAIGHT

Special to Leader Publications

A young woman who had weapons in her car in the Niles High School parking lot has been sentenced to probation in Berrien County Trial Court.

Haylei Autumn Shepard, 21, of Hills Haven in Buchanan, pleaded guilty to possession of a short-barrel shotgun and was sentenced Monday to two years probation, a fine of $1,218 and 50 hours of community service to be completed by Oct. 15.

She was sentenced to 30 days in jail to start Jan. 1, but may have it suspended if she completes other terms of her probation. She must have an alcohol and substance abuse evaluation, keep a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and get her high school diploma within six months.

The incident occurred Feb. 24 in the NHS parking lot. Niles police officer Kevin Kosten investigated a suspicious vehicle in the parking lot and found Shepard and a man, Shykiem Devon Townsend, sitting in a car with money and a gun, which was found inside after a search.

Shepard and Townsend originally said they were bringing food to a student who they could not name, but eventually admitted that they came to the high school to buy marijuana.

Townsend, 23, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced last week to two years probation and 120 days in jail for carrying a concealed weapon in an auto and attempted possession of a short-barrel shotgun. He has credit for 46 days served.

Shepard said it terrified her to be in jail after her arrest. “It didn’t hit me until I was in jail what could happen to me because of the people I was around,” she said. “I’ve been doing better since I’ve been out of jail.”

Shepard also had her probation revoked from a 2016 use of marijuana sentence. She originally had the chance to keep the sentence off her record, but will now have the conviction entered with her arrest and sentence on the weapon charge.

“You were on probation for drug use,” Berrien County Trial Judge Angela Pasula said. “While on probation, the easiest thing to do is to not commit another offense. Here, you were in the parking lot of a school and you lied to police. Saying you didn’t give probation your best effort is an understatement.”

“I don’t know what you were thinking, this was very dangerous behavior,” the judge added. “This is a gun designed to do physical harm and facilitate criminal activity. If the gun had been brought out, it could have been much worse. You’re fortunate that nothing else took place.”

In another sentencing, a South Bend man who stole a weapon from a girlfriend was sentenced to jail and probation.

Steven Ray Zick, 30, of South Bend, pleaded guilty to larceny of a firearm and was sentenced to two years probation, 100 days in jail, completion of the inpatient Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program, $2,201 in restitution and $1,198 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred Sept. 1, 2016, when he stole a gun from his girlfriend after spending the night with her at her Niles Township residence. He admitted that he stole the gun and traded it to a drug dealer for crystal meth.

Zick said he was grateful he was caught because his time in jail has sobered him up. He said he had been struggling with drugs for a while, taking meth and starting to take heroin.