Evart man sentenced to restitution for Newberg Township vehicle theft

Published 1:00 pm Sunday, December 3, 2023

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CASSOPOLIS — A man already in prison for a crime spree across the state of Michigan was ordered to pay over $11,000 in restitution Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Jordan Jeffrey DeWitt, 39, of Evart, Mich., pleaded guilty to receiving, concealing or possession of a stolen motor vehicle and was sentenced to $11,086 in restitution and $2,048 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred April 20, 2021 when police discovered DeWitt and two others in a stolen travel trailer at a campground on M-60 in Newberg Township.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said he didn’t recall seeing someone accumulate so many felony convictions in such a short period of time. DeWitt now has 35 felony convictions for incidents over the last three years.

“He is now serving 34 prison sentences for what clearly was a very involved property theft ring he was involved in,” Fitz said. “… It’s up to him if we see him back again. If we do, he has given us a lot of ammunition to put him away on the shelf for many years. It would be his decision, not ours.”

Counties where DeWitt has felony convictions and is serving prison terms include Berrien, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Kent, Mecosta, Osceola, Montcalm, Newaygo and Ottawa. His most recent conviction from Sept. 19 in Chippewa County for conducting a criminal enterprise is for six to 20 years in prison.

Cass County Circuit Judge Mark Herman agreed with Fitz that it was one of the highest number of convictions he’s seen for a defendant in such a short period of time. He agreed with the recommendation for no more jail time for the offense here since the guidelines were low and the earliest date DeWitt can be released is in 2028.

“Obviously any sentence I could give you would be eaten up by the Chippewa County sentence,” Judge Herman said.

“You started using meth at age 36, you’re now 39,” the judge told DeWitt. “Prior to that you didn’t have much of a record. I hope you learned that meth is not going to do you any favors … You’ve gotten yourself into a situation where if you’re convicted of anything in the future, it will be a huge prison sentence.”