ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
Rape and robbery charges against a Roanoke man were dropped after the alleged victim failed to show up for court and did not contact authorities about the case.
Arthur Brown, 38, was arrested in January after a 30-year-old woman told police he raped her at knifepoint and then took her money after she went to his Williamson Road apartment.
A preliminary hearing for Brown had been scheduled for Wednesday in Roanoke General District Court, but prosecutors asked a judge to drop the charges late last week.
The woman didn't show up for court on several occasions and did not respond to efforts by prosecutors to speak to her about the case, said Brown's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michelle Derrico. - STAFF REPORT
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