Cape man denied appeal

ST. LOUIS -- By going on the lam to avoid sentencing for felony and misdemeanor convictions, a Cape Girar-deau man waived his right to appeal, a court ruled Tuessday.

Charles Selvy was convicted in Cape Girardeau County on Feb. 5, 1999, of possession of a controlled substance, a felony, and attempted evidence tampering, a misdemeanor. Judge William L. Syler freed Selvy on bond pending scheduled sentencing the following month.

Selvy failed to appear at his March 15, 1999, sentencing hearing and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Selvy remained at large until apprehended more than 19 months later.

On Dec. 4, 2000, Syler sentenced Selvy to 12 years in prison on the felony count and a concurrent term of six months in county jail on the misdemeanor charge.

Selvy appealed both convictions, but a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District dismissed the case pursuant to the "escape rule" established under legal precedent.

"Missouri courts have consistently held that a defendant who escapes or flees the jurisdiction of its courts either during trial or in the process of post-trial proceedings forfeits his right to an appeal," Judge Lawrence G. Crahan wrote in the unanimous opinion dismissing Selvy's appeal.

Selvy, 26, is incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Center in Bowling Green, Mo. The 12-year sentence Selvy appealed will run consecutive to a five-year sentence from an unrelated case for possession of a controlled substance.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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