MENOMINEE — A resident of Daggett was sentenced to up to 4 years for stabbing a deputy with a knife. He was charged with felonious assault and resisting/obstructing police.

Menominee County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey T. Rogg announced Nathan Joseph Bedgood, 38, of Daggett was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting/obstructing police with injury.

According to information provided in open court, On August 21, 2023, Menominee County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to W435 County Road 358 in Daggett in reference to an out of control male, later identified as Bedgood. Law enforcement attempted to arrest Bedgood when he stabbed one of the deputies with a knife.

In April of 2024, Bedgood plead no contest to the charges following a referral to The Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry, which stated Bedgood was competent to understand the nature and the object of the proceedings against him.

In a statement, Rogg said that Bedgood “posed a significant threat to his family members who called for help, and then the deputies that arrived to assist them and arrest him.”

“While it is true that people with mental health disorders are represented in the criminal justice system, it is also clear that the mental state of offenders does not diminish the harm they cause, Rogg said.

“Murder victims are no less dead because they were killed by schizophrenic or depressed offenders with totally sound minds, and rape victims are just as violated by intellectually disabled offenders as by other offenders,” Rogg said.

He added that in terms of mental health specialists, the Michigan Department of Corrections is better equipped “to meet the needs of Mr. Bedgood” than the local county jail.

“I have held Mr. Bedgood appropriately responsible for his actions and, at the same time, protected the citizens of Menominee County.”