Ex-lawmaker denies gambling counts
Posted on Friday, March 30, 2007
TEXARKANA — Former state Rep. Travis Dowd pleaded innocent this week to charges of operating a gambling house in Texarkana.
Dowd entered the plea Tuesday before Judge Joe Griffin in Miller County Circuit Court. His attorney, Jeff Harrelson, said he had filed a motion asking the prosecution to turn over evidence it plans to use. Deputy prosecuting attorney Carlton Jones is handling the state’s case.
Police arrested Dowd, 66, in October on a charge of operating a business, the Lucky Penny, in violation of state law, the so-called Chuck E. Cheese law, which limits the value of coupons or tokens traded for small prizes to $ 5 each.
Undercover police officers posed as arcade customers for several months before an Oct. 5 raid, in which gambling machines and cash were seized as evidence, according to reports. Dowd is free on a $ 20, 000 bond. The felony charge is punishable by one to three years in prison.
In 1993, a jury convicted Dowd of making false statements to a federal agency but deadlocked on a charge of extortion and racketeering arising from allegations that Dowd used his position as a state representative to influence alcohol permits. He spent one month in jail, five months on house arrest and was supervised by a federal probation officer for two years.
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