DANVERS - For more than an hour, Roy Dowds Jr. spoke to police about the crash they say he caused deliberately in an effort to shake off the young man clinging to the side of the SUV Dowds had just stolen.
He talked about how he'd had a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor with some friends in Beverly, smoked a little marijuana, then started walking home to Lawrence when he spotted the vehicle. He talked about how, once he realized Keith Koster, 20, was hanging onto the side of the car, he decided "to do what was best for me," in order to get away.
All of it was recorded by Danvers and state police, who questioned Dowds after the May 4 crash on Route 114 that took the life of Koster.
But now, Dowds is asking a judge to throw the confession out as evidence, saying he was in no condition that night to know what he was doing when he agreed to speak to police, waiving his constitutional right to remain silent.
Dowds, 32, had just been released from prison, where he served five years for stealing a car in Salem in 2000, when, on the evening of May 4, he was walking along Route 114 and saw Koster's Ford Explorer with the keys in the ignition.
Koster, of Boxford, was working inside Giblee's, a men's clothing store, when he saw his seven-year-old SUV being driven away. The former high school football quarterback sprinted from the store and jumped onto the passenger side of the SUV. When Dowds pulled out onto Route 114, Koster held onto the roof rack, desperately trying to get Dowds to stop.
Instead, police say Dowds deliberately swerved back and forth, then headed straight for a utility pole. The impact sent Koster airborne, and then into the pavement, where he died of massive trauma.
Dowds has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery and, if convicted, faces life in prison without the chance of parole. Yesterday, defense lawyer William O'Hare argued that Dowds might have suffered a concussion in the crash, or perhaps was still drunk. Or perhaps he was just emotionally distraught after learning Koster had died, the lawyer argued.
He pointed to evidence that Dowds had red, glassy eyes, smelled slightly of alcohol and had a demeanor that shifted from steady to emotional.
O'Hare also challenged statements Dowds made to one of the officers who found him hiding in a parking lot behind the Ira Lexus dealership, when he admitted to taking Koster's car.
Prosecutor James Gubitose countered there's no medical evidence that Dowds was injured - in fact, Dowds declined medical attention.
It had been nearly eight hours since Dowds had drunk malt liquor and smoked marijuana, and Dowds declined a Breathalyzer test not because he thought he was drunk but because he feared that even a trace amount of alcohol in his system would be a violation of his probation.
And Dowds offered specific details about his day, as well as other information, such as his Social Security number, that suggest he was clearheaded when questioned.
And, Gubitose argued, not only was Dowds read his rights three times that night, but he was very familiar with those rights from his past encounters with police. To buttress that point, Gubitose brought in a Salem police sergeant who had booked him in a stolen car case back in 2000, who produced a copy of a "Miranda" rights card he had signed back then.
Judge Thomas Billings did not rule immediately after yesterday's hearing.
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