Topeka ? A panel of the Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the conviction of a man sentenced in the 2009 robbery of a Lawrence convenience store.

Sedryck Welch, now 24, was sentenced to 17 years in prison. A jury convicted Welch of aggravated robbery after prosecutors accused him of using a shotgun to rob a clerk on Aug. 3, 2009, at Conoco, 2447 W. Sixth St.

At the time of his sentencing, Welch had already been sentenced in a Topeka robbery.

The robbery in Lawrence was captured on a security camera, but the image of the robber wasn’t clear.

The state called witnesses who testified about Welch’s characteristics in relation to the person on the video.

Welch said the testimony shouldn’t have been allowed, but the appeals court panel said the testimony was proper because the witnesses were not allowed to testify as to the specific identity of the person on the video.

Welch also argued that he was mentally handicapped and that made him less culpable for conviction and sentencing. But the appeals panel said Welch failed to provide a “diminished capacity” defense during his trial.