A grand jury indicted two men Tuesday for violently robbing a female Ohio University student with a deadly weapon on Oct. 3.
Prosecutors say either Bryon C. Ely, 21, or Nicholas M. Dowler, 20, approached the woman behind McCracken Hall at about 2:30 a.m. The first man brandished what looked like a box cutter before grabbing her purse and jumping into a waiting truck driven by the second man.
Minutes later, security cameras recorded two men using the woman's credit card at the Speedway on Richland Avenue.
The indictments list two counts of aggravated robbery for each man. On the first count, prosecutors accuse them of having a deadly weapon during the robbery. On the second, they say the pair harmed or attempted to harm the student during the robbery, said Keller Blackburn, Assistant County Prosecutor.
Each could spend ten years in prison if convicted.
OU police arrested Ely, of 3932 Railroad St. in New Marshfield, Oct. 15 when he appeared at the local courthouse for another, unrelated case.
Dowler, of 11455 Salem Rd. in Athens, surrendered to OU police Oct. 5. Police have said he confessed his role in the crime during police interviews after his arrest.
A municipal judge remanded Ely and Dowler to the Southeast Ohio Regional Jail on $50,000 and $55,500 bail, respectively. Dowler will return to court for his arraignment on Oct. 21 at 9 a.m., and Ely will return for his arraignment that same day at 10 a.m.
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Frank Thomas
