Dog choked during domestic dispute
Niles, MI (US)Incident Date: Friday, Nov 24, 2006
County: Berrien
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Dismissed (Conditional)
Person of Interest: Michael Larry Comstock
A Niles man will spend three months in jail for calling a woman that he was supposed to have no contact with more than 60 times.
Michael Larry Comstock made the phone calls while serving a yearlong probation for a domestic violence conviction against the woman, a prosecutor said.
Berrien County Judge Scott Schofield revoked Michael Larry Comstock's probation on March 12, 2007 and sent the 32-year-old to Berrien County Jail for 90 days.
Comstock had been on probation on a second offense domestic violence conviction for an incident Nov. 24, Schofield said.
Prosecutors said Comstock argued with the woman and during the course of a fight either hit or choked the victim's dog.
Comstock later pleaded guilty to the domestic violence charge and prosecutors dropped an animal cruelty charge, said Berrien County Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Travis.
Comstock's court-appointed attorney asked Schofield to continue his client's probation so Comstock could maintain his job as a painter.
He argued that Comstock's violation of a no-contact order wasn't that egregious because he didn't have physical contact with the victim.
But Schofield offered a sharp rebuttal.
"On the topic of egregious, Mr. Comstock placed 62 calls to the victim," Schofield pointed out.
Comstock apologized and told Schofield he made a bad judgment.
"You made bad judgments 62 times," Schofield said.
Comstock and his attorney told Schofield that the victim suffers from a mental illness and she was threatening to kill herself. Comstock said he needed to call her to check on her.
Again Schofield offered a rebuttal.
"It's commendable that you think about her, but I wish you had thought about her on Nov. 24," Schofield said, referring to the angry outburst that caused the domestic violence charge against Comstock.
"I'm sorry, the fact that you violated your probation in such a short time in such a massive way leads me to believe you're jail worthy," Schofield said.
"I'm sorry it makes you unavailable to your employer. But when you violate a judge's order, they all suffer," the judge said. References« MI State Animal Cruelty Map
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