Charges were dropped Wednesday against a Gladys woman charged in a March 2009 robbery of an elderly couple.
One of the victims suffers from an age-related mental health problem that would prevent testimony. Another died, Campbell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul McAndrews said.
Delphine Yvonne Scott, 42, was arrested in August 2009 and spent the next nearly eight months in jail in Rustburg. Scott was set for a two-day jury trial starting Thursday morning in Campbell County Circuit Court.
“At this time, I’m unsure I could sustain the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” McAndrews said after the hearing.
He said he’d be forced to rely on co-defendant testimony that has been inconsistent from hearing to hearing. The prosecutor said he hasn’t given up entirely, but can’t go forward at this time.
Around the time of Scott’s arrest, Chief Deputy L.T. Guthrie, of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, said a couple in their 80s were bound and robbed at their Rustburg-area home as they returned from a Wednesday-night church service.
Two masked people followed the couple into their garage, bound them, then stole their money and personal possessions, Guthrie said.
Co-defendant Christopher Nowlin, 27, was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, breaking and entering, wearing a mask, two counts of robbery, two counts of abduction and five counts of conspiracy.
Nowlin’s sentencing date has not been set. He is held at the Rustburg Adult Detention Center.
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