A central Ohio appellate panel overruled a Toledo man’s assertion that his felonious assault and robbery convictions stemming from an attack of a Polaris-area hotel housekeeper in 2023 were contrary to the evidence presented at trial.

The three-judge panel of the Fifth District Court of Appeals determined there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction of Christopher Lee Watkins, 40, who was not a registered guest at the Hilton Columbus-Polaris at the time of the incident.

“We cannot conclude that the jury clearly ‘lost its way and created such a manifest miscarriage of justice’ that the conviction cannot stand,” Fifth District Judge Robert Montgomery wrote for the 3-0 panel. “As such, the jury’s verdict is not against the manifest weight of the evidence.”

According to a summary of the case, Watkins emerged from a hotel room and struck the female housekeeper, identified as E.G. in the decision, as she was gathering supplies to clean an adjacent room Aug. 21, 2023.

He struck E.G in the face with a closed fist, multiple times, causing her to lose consciousness and suffer numerous facial fractures from the assault.

A male hotel worker, identified as A.R., witnessed the attack and attempted to use his walkie talkie to get help. He also yelled at the assailant to stop.

Watkins ran toward A.R. and knocked him to the ground, kicking him, and took both his cellphone and the walkie talkie, summary detailed.

The hotel engineer was called to the eighth floor in response to the emergency. The engineer, identified as Ridgeway, encountered Watkins, who ran past him as he arrived on the floor.

Police later showed the engineer a photo array for identification, and he chose the photo of Watkins, testifying at trial that his confidence level in identifying the man was “an 11 on a scale of 1 to 10.”

Law enforcement found a hat and to-go food container in the room in which Watkins had been prior to assaulting the woman.

The hat was found to contain Watkins’ DNA after testing was completed and video surveillance showed Watkins wearing the hat when he ordered carryout from the hotel restaurant.

A Delaware County grand jury indicted Watkins on Oct. 12, 2023, on a single count each of felonious assault and robbery — both second-degree felonies.

He pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial commenced Feb. 25, 2025.

The jury found Watkins guilty of both offenses, and the court sentenced him on Feb. 27, 2025, to an aggregate prison term of 14 to 18 years — eight to 12 years for felonious assault and six years for robbery — to be served consecutively.

Watkins filed a timely notice of appeal March 7, 2025.

“In this case, the circumstantial evidence is strong,” Montgomery wrote. “Appellant’s argument that E.G. could not identify (him) in a police lineup shortly after her beating ignores the additional evidence demonstrating that appellant was the assailant. The jury heard all the evidence and determined beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was in fact the assailant.”

The appellate judge noted it was without question that Watkins caused serious physical harm to the woman.

Regarding Watkins’ claim the robbery conviction was not supported by legally sufficient evidence or the weight of the evidence presented at trial, the panel reasoned that there was “more than sufficient evidence” supporting the conviction.

“First, the same person who feloniously assaulted E.G. attacked and robbed A.R. when A.R. tried to stop the assault. The jury determined the assailant to be (Watkins),” Montgomery wrote. “Second, the elements of robbery are clearly met. The testimony demonstrates that A.R. attempted to use his walkie talkie to alert hotel personnel that an attack was taking place. Appellant tried to take away the walkie talkie, and because A.R. resisted appellant’s efforts, appellant pushed and kicked him, causing A.R. to fall to the ground while appellant kept kicking him. A.R. tried to reach for his cellphone in his pocket, but appellant managed to escape with both the phone and the walkie talkie. … As such, a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Presiding Judge William Hoffman and Fifth District Judge Andrew King joined Montgomery’s opinion.