By DEBRA HAIGHT

Special to Leader Publications

A Niles man who hit his wife in the head with a hammer in early April is going to prison.

Craig Alan Vogelsang was sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court to a term of nearly five years in prison.

Vogelsang, 54, of South Fourth Street in Niles, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and was sentenced to 57 months to 10 years in prison. He has credit for 41 days already served, and must pay $1,598 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred April 8 at a home in Niles. Vogelsang struck his wife in the forehead with a hammer and split it open. His wife didn’t go to the hospital until a few days later, although she was disoriented and suffering from severe headaches.

Berrien County Trial Judge Angela Pasula called Vogelsang’s actions and abuse of his wife “mind boggling.” She noted that there had been significant prior abuse when he had broken his wife’s jaw and struck her so hard that her spleen had to be removed.

“I read the report about this assault with absolute disbelief,” Pasula told Vogelsang. “This is one of the most significant assaults I’ve seen in my years on the bench.

“You’ve been married to the victim for 20 years. In this incident, you were drinking and the victim locked you out of the house and then let you back in. You tried to strangle her and then struck her in the forehead with a hammer. Her head was split open and there was blood spurting everywhere. This was an extremely violent act.”

“This was excessive violence,” she said. “You have shown an utter lack of respect for your wife over the years. You treat her as a possession that you can treat anyway you want. The violence over the years has clearly escalated. It’s clear that you would eventually kill her if the cycle of violence was left uninterrupted.”

She noted his past record includes six sentences to jail, four probation sentences and at least one previous prison term. He has had five prior assault convictions.

“You’re a dangerous man and you’ve shown that repeatedly,” she said.

Vogelsang tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea at the start of Monday’s proceedings. Pasula denied his request, saying that he had made his guilty plea under oath in April and the fact that his sentencing guidelines ended up higher than anticipated did not warrant a withdrawal of his plea.

The guidelines had preliminarily been calculated to be 10 to 23 months but ended up being 29 to 57 months in prison after three more previous convictions were discovered. She noted that Vogelsang should consider himself lucky that the prosecutor’s office didn’t charge him as a habitual offender which would have raised the guidelines higher.

Vogelsang and his attorney, Jason Engram, noted his health problems and asked for a lighter sentence. Vogelsang suffers from several health conditions and is currently on disability.