ROGERS CITY — You don’t have to tell police the whole truth, but lying to them is still a crime, a judge said Monday.

In Rogers City’s 53rd Circuit Court, attorneys debated the sentencing parameters of Travis Hincka, 32, who was caught with a small quantity of an illegal drug in August.

Hincka, charged with criminal possession of an illegal substance, denied that the drug, located in a backpack in his home, belonged to him and suggested the drugs had been planted there by his girlfriend.

In a pre-sentencing discussion, Hincka’s attorney argued that the accusation of “interfering with the administration of justice,” part of the scoring guidelines used to determine a sentencing range for Hincka, was unduly harsh and put him into a too-high sentencing bracket.

While people accused of a crime can’t be punished for not confessing to a crime, Judge Aaron Gauthier said, Hincka’s statements went beyond denial into a shifting of blame and a redirection of investigation.

Gauthier denied the offense’s request to overlook Hincka’s deception of police, resulting in the scoring for his offense being high enough that he did not qualify for a county jail sentence and instead will head to state prison.

Upon imposing sentence, Gauthier acknowledged that the amount of illegal substance with which Hincka had been caught was small, but it was, he said, a substance that is “doing terrible damage to our community.” The judge pointed to Hincka’s prior criminal record, including extensive numbers of positive drug tests while on parole, as he sentenced Hincka to 24 months to 10 years in prison.

“This isn’t just one bad choice,” Gauthier said. “It’s a bad choice at the end of a series of bad choices.”

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Also in the 53rd Circuit Court, two Presque Isle County residents were sentenced Monday regarding two separate incidents involving attempts to avoid arrest.

Tashina Finch-Boehmer was given six months in the Presque Isle County jail with credit for 107 days served for running from an officer, pulling away from handcuffs, and rolling on the ground, kicking the officer.

Despite the defense attorney’s appeal to release Finch-Boehmer on time served and allowing her to go home to her children by Thanksgiving, Gauthier said that the offense was serious enough to warrant additional time served.

Most of us, Gauthier said, would be shocked if, as part of our daily jobs, we encountered someone kicking and fighting against us. Officers, though, encounter such behavior more regularly than they should.

“Our police officers have a very difficult job,” Gauthier said. “You made that job significantly harder.”

In a similar case, Chad Ervin also was sentenced for attempted resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer, stemming from an incident in which he had to be pinned down in his yard in order for officers to handcuff him when they picked him up on a warrant.

Original felony charges of resisting arrest were reduced to a criminal misdemeanor, the fourth time Ervin has been able to avoid felony resisting charges, Gauthier said.

“Your plan to remain felony-free is not a good one,” the judge said, sentencing Ervin to a minimum of a year in jail, with credit for 101 days served.

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A fake contractor who defrauded his customer of $10,400 was sentenced to a minimum of 13 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution.

Calling Sean Mcauley’s actions predatory, Presque Isle County Prosecutor Ken Radzibon reminded the court of the defendant’s history of committing felonies and absconding while on parole and misconduct in prison.

Mcauley, who was brought to court by corrections officers from another county, where he is incarcerated on similar charges, was advised by the judge to make restitution as soon as possible or risk making repeat appearances before his bench until the amount is paid.

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A registered sex offender, James Lovell, was sentenced Monday for violation of his registration conditions.

There are many ways registered sex offenders can violate their numerous registration requirements. While some of those are more technical in nature, Lovell’s violation, Gauthier said, was much more serious, as the violation itself was sexual and threatening.

Lovell was sentenced to nine months in jail for sending unwanted photos of a sexual nature using a phone he had not registered.

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A follow-up to an October hearing regarding the definition of immorality resulted in no firm decision being made about how a jury will be instructed to define an immoral act.

Christopher Reeve, whose first trial resulted in a hung jury, will in February again face a jury that will determine if his actions fit the charge of accosting a minor for immoral purposes.

Reeves is accused of encouraging the alleged victim, a minor younger than 16, to allow him to place his hands on her in inappropriate places, according to Radzibon. The News does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse.

Gauthier rejected proposed jury instructions submitted by the defense, saying the instructions’ wording, based on a past case considered by the Michigan Court of Appeals, almost made it imperative to acquit the defendant and to call the victim a criminal.

For a defendant to be found guilty of accosting for immoral purposes, he or she must be causing or encouraging a minor to perform a criminal act, according to defense attorney Michael Vogler.

For his client to be found guilty, Vogler said, the specific criminal action designated as immoral must be clarified for the jury, not leaving them to decide for themselves what constitutes immorality.

The charge of accosting a minor for immoral purposes is used in cases in which the defendant does, in fact, convince or attempt to convince a minor to commit a crime, such as robbing a store. It also receives heavy use throughout the state, Gauther said, for incidences of grooming a child to perform a sexual action in relation to the defendant that would be a crime on the part of the defendant, not the child.

In the upcoming two-day trial, if the jury asks for a definition of morality, as they did during Reeves’ first trial, “we’ll need to put our heads together” and figure out what to tell them, Gauthier said.