Cass County sentencings: Serial home invader gets 5-plus years

CASSOPOLIS — Stealing more than $25,000 worth of valuable and in some cases irreplaceable items from three different homes in Cass County resulted in a long prison sentence for an Indiana man.

Forty-one-year-old Donald Cupery, of Elkhart, pleaded guilty in August to three counts of felony home invasion in the second degree. Judge Michael Dodge sentenced him to 71 months in the Michigan Department of Corrections Friday in Cass County Circuit Court.

The thefts occurred at three separate residences, one on Calvin Center Road, another on M-62, and another on Harvey Street.

Cupery took $25,191.21 worth of items from the three homes.

Prosecutor Victor Fitz said it was just the “tip of the iceberg” in regards to Cupery’s thefts. Cupery, who has similar charges pending in Berrien County and LaGrange County (Ind.), admits he broke into so many homes he can’t remember them all.

It’s a statement the victims have a hard time dealing with.

“He might not remember, but we will never forget,” said one of the victims prior to sentencing.

Three victims spoke at sentencing. All reported losing priceless family heirlooms and their sense of security. One woman said Cupery stole a 90-year-old cross that had been passed down multiple generations.

The 71-month sentence is at the very top of the sentencing guidelines for Cupery. Sentencing guidelines were 36 to 71 months.

Also Friday:

• Corey Florian, 22, was resentenced after an appellate court ruled the original presentence investigation report contained errors. Florian was originally sentenced to seven years in prison. His sentence was reduced to six years. A jury convicted Florian of several charges, including conspiracy to commit armed robbery, in September of 2012.

• David Kiefer, 19, of Edwardsburg, was sentenced to 30 days in jail for attempted larceny in a building. Kiefer acted as a lookout while a co-defendant stole money from a home on Beach Drive in Edwardsburg on April 22.

• Kathleen Mennito, 38, of South Bend, Ind., received a 32-month prison sentence for operating and maintaining a meth lab. Officers discovered a meth lab at her residence on S. Shore Drive in Edwardsburg on Feb. 5. Mennito was given a chance to complete a drug treatment program, but failed, resulting in the prison sentence.

• James Keller, 41, of French Lick, Ind., was sentenced to 18 months probation and credit for time served (122 days) for possession of meth. Officers found meth at his home on Tharp Lake Road in Edwardsburg on June 5.

• Agustin Aliva-Diaz, 37, of Niles, received two years probation and credit for time served (114 days) for delivering and manufacturing marijuana. Over 400 grams of marijuana and $500 cash was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop on Huntly Road in Niles on June 13.

• O’Larry Anderson, 43, of Dowagiac, was sentenced to credit for time served (93 days) for domestic violence and attempted felonious assault. Anderson hit his live-in girlfriend in the head with an ashtray at a residence on Halstead Road in Dowagiac on Oct. 31, 2012.

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