Appeals court upholds Dowdy conviction

Roy Elrico Dowdy III isn't entitled to a new trial because no significant mistake was made during his December 2014 trial that resulted in his conviction on robbery and other charges.

Dowdy, now 25, is serving a 15-year sentence for first-degree robbery at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking.

The Corrections department "Offender Search" program indicates Dowdy has finished serving his other sentences for convictions of armed criminal action, damaging jail property and attempting to escape custody after his arrest.

He wanted the state appeals court to rule Cole County Circuit Judge Dan Green abused his discretion in overruling Dowdy's request for a mistrial, after the prosecution closing argument said it was "not a far stretch" to find Dowdy guilty of robbery because he had testified he committed burglary in the past.

The three-judge appeals panel noted Dowdy had argued Green's failure to order a mistrial "deprived him of his rights to due process, a fair trial, a fair and impartial jury, and to be tried only for the offense charged."

Dowdy was one of three men arrested for stealing $35 and an iPhone from a customer at Break Time, 627 Clark Ave., in 2013.

The Jefferson City police records and trial evidence said the victim was pumping gas when Dowdy opened the passenger side door and offered to sell narcotics.

The victim declined, police said, but Dowdy refused to close the car door.

When the victim finished pumping the gas, he attempted to drive away, but Dowdy got into the car, pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded his property.

The appeals court also noted the man later identified as Dowdy told one of his companions to "screw up" the victim if he got out of the car. As he got out of the car, Dowdy told the victim to not return or he would be killed.

The victim drove straight from Break Time to the police station and reported the robbery.

During Dowdy's trial, his attorney objected to the state's closing argument statement referring to a 2010 burglary conviction, even though Dowdy had admitted to that conviction during his testimony.

In his instructions, Green reminded the jury it could "consider evidence of a prior conviction for the purposes of considering the defendant's credibility, but the jury may not consider evidence of a prior conviction for any other purpose."

The appeals court agreed the closing argument linking Dowdy's prior burglary to the robbery charge was improper. However, the appeals court ruled that mistake was tempered by the jury instruction written by Dowdy's lawyer, who had submitted his own language instead of using the pre-approved available instruction.

"The court is not required to correct an erroneous instruction the defendant proffered, and in such instances, even plain error review is waived," the appeals panel ruled.

"A defendant cannot invite error and then raise it as reversible error on appeal."