ALPENA — A man who drove to Alpena to sell drugs and then pointed a gun at a buyer can’t blame COVID-19 to get his conviction overturned, the Michigan Court of Appeals said last week.

John Gaddy, sentenced in February 2021 to more than two years in prison on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, claimed he was forced to sign away his rights to a jury trial because of pandemic-related restrictions limiting the number of people in a courtroom.

The delay made Gaddy, 24, choose between his right to stand before jurors and his right to a speedy trial, he told the appellate court, to no avail.

Gaddy chose a bench trial — in which the judge takes the place of a jury — rather than waiting for a jury trial, and Judge Ed Black found him guilty of assault.

Had Gaddy elected to wait for a jury, his trial would have been held a month later than originally planned, still falling well within state guidelines that say a trial should be held within 18 months of a defendant’s arrest, according to an appeals court decision issued on Thursday.

The higher court also shot down arguments by Gaddy that Black improperly admitted testimony about Gaddy’s former crimes during the bench trial.

Black may have misinterpreted the statues determining allowed evidence, but that decision was harmless, given the substantial evidence of Gaddy’s guilt, the appeals court said.

According to witnesses at the trial, Gaddy and another man, Duran Lowe, drove to Alpena and sold rock salt to two Alpena women, alleging the substance was methamphetamine.

Realizing they had been tricked, the women chased Gaddy and Lowe in their vehicle, both drivers stopping for an angry confrontation in a business parking lot.

During the argument, Gaddy pointed a gun at one of the women for several seconds, ordering her to back off.

Police later found a gun matching the victim’s description about 100 feet from where police stopped Gaddy’s vehicle after the women called 911.

Gaddy remains incarcerated at the St. Louis Correctional Facility.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.