A second man accused of threatening and robbing an Ohio University student pleaded not guilty during his arraignment yesterday.
A judge set Nicholas Dowler's bail at $100,000, and Dowler must pay at least 10 percent of that to be released from the Southeastern Regional Ohio Jail.
Nicholas Dowler, of 11455 Salem Road, turned himself in to OU Police Oct. 5 and admitted to participating in aggravated robbery, police said.
Either Dowler, 20, or Bryon Ely, 21, threatened OU student Kendall Coombs with what looked like a box cutter before stealing her purse around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 3 behind McCracken Hall, police said. One man threatened the student and the other drove the car, police said.
Shortly after the robbery, two men, believed to be Dowler and Ely, used Coombs' credit card at a Speedway gas station on Richland Avenue. The surveillance camera caught the men on tape.
Police arrested Ely when he appeared in court Oct. 8 for a different charge.
A grand jury indicted Dowler and Ely Oct. 13 on two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of theft.
Ely was arraigned Wednesday. The judge placed his bail at $80,000 and ruled that Ely would have to pay the entire amount instead of just the 10 percent that is usually allowed.
The public defender's office currently represents both Dowler and Ely, but the office will have to step down from one case to avoid a conflict of interest, Eric Hedrick, an attorney for the public defender's office, said.
Dowler's and Ely's trials are scheduled for Dec. 17 with different judges.
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Gail Burkhardt
