CASSOPOLIS — A homeless man involved in a January shooting incident was sentenced to a year in jail Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

Joseph Allen Ward, 21, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and tampering with evidence and was sentenced to 365 days in jail with credit for 97 days served. He must pay $2,176 in fines and costs.

     The incident occurred Jan. 5 against a woman at a residence on O’Keefe Road in LaGrange Township. Ward and another man got into an altercation with the woman who was shot twice in the neck and shoulder.

     Cass County Assistant Prosecutor Jason Ronning noted that Ward came close to facing a murder charge.

“I’m a little concerned that he began to feel threatened so he grabbed a shotgun and handed it to his co-defendant,” Ronning said. “He didn’t know if it was loaded and the co-defendant fired it. The victim was irritating them and they wanted her to shut up. ”

     Ronning and defense attorney Robert Kardatzke both said that they had come to a plea agreement where Ward would serve a year in jail so that Ward could avoid a mandatory two year prison term for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

     Kardatzke said that his client had no prior record and foolishly went along with the co-defendant in initiating the incident.

     “The victim was shot in the neck and shoulder and she was taken to the hospital and later transported to Kalamazoo for surgery,” Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman said. “You’re lucky you’re not going to prison for a long time. If she had died, you would be going to prison.”

     “You dropped out of school in the 11th grade and were using meth daily prior to this incident,” the judge added. “The whole bunch of you need to get your heads screwed on right. You didn’t like school, but would you rather spend the next year in school or jail?”