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NILES — Five area residents were sentenced Monday in Berrien County Trial Court at the Niles Courthouse.

Kevin Alan Critzer, 44, of Niles pleaded guilty to attempted resisting and obstructing police and illegal entry and was sentenced to credit for time served of 157 days and $350 in fines and costs.

      The incident occurred Nov. 12, 2024 in Niles.

      Defense attorney Dan French said Critzer has serious health concerns that are a burden to the jail to handle. He said Critzer had been using meth at the time of the incident and has since gone through a recovery treatment program.

      Critzer apologized to the victims and their loss of security in their own home. “I wouldn’t want that to happen to me,” he said.

      Daymond Jean-Charles Peck, 23, of Bristol, Indiana, pleaded no contest to fleeing and eluding police and resisting and obstructing police and was sentenced to 365 days in jail with credit for 365 days served as part of a plea agreement and $198 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred May 1, 2024 in Niles. He still has another case pending in St. Joseph.

      Joel Edward Stockdale, 21, of Mishawaka, pleaded guilty to home invasion and was sentenced to two years probation, 100 hours of community service and $678 in fines and costs.

      The incident occurred Jan. 21 at a home in the Franklin Woods mobile home part in Niles Township. His cousin, Jordan Tyler Stockdale, is also charged in the incident but was not sentenced as he had not shown up for a presentence investigation.

      Defense attorney Dan Grow said that Joel Stockdale admitted that he had shown “dreadful” judgment in starting the dispute that led to the incident. Grow noted that this was the first time his client had been in trouble.

      Stockdale apologized for his actions and said he wished the incident hadn’t happened.

      Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gordon Hosbein said he would hold off on giving Stockdale any jail time in light of Stockdale’s lack of a record and it being a “really dumb” decision to break into the home.

      Seth Michael Wade, 21, of Niles, pleaded guilty to third degree fleeing and eluding police and was sentenced to two years probation, credit for 18 days served, $658 in fines and costs and $586 in restitution.

      The incident occurred May 2 in Niles Township when Wade fled from police. The restitution is to the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department for the stop sticks they deployed to stop Wade.

      “He had a very irrational fear of the police,” French said. “He knows he should not have run from police. His taillight was out and he turned that into a felony by fleeing.”

      “I want to apologize,” Wade said. “I realize it was really, really dumb of me to do that. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

      Quwalin Martaie Winder, 19, of Merrillville, Indiana, pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Training Act to two years probation, credit for two days served, 100 hours of community service, forfeiture of the weapon and $618 in fines and costs.

      The incident occurred Jan. 1 in Bertrand Township. He can keep the conviction off his record if he is successful on probation.

      French said that it has been a learning experience for Winder. He noted that his client had never been in trouble before and didn’t realize the difference in laws between Michigan and Indiana when it comes to the carrying of a weapon in an automobile.

      In other court news, the jury trial for Berrien Springs resident Edward Deontae Turner has been delayed to mid-September after a scheduling conflict. Turner is charged with 13 felony counts related to an armed robbery spree at four locations in central Berrien County last year.

      The new trial date for Turner is Sept. 10-12 at the Niles Courthouse.