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Case dropped in robbery, beating of soldier

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Charges have been dropped against a man and two women accused of assaulting and robbing an Army reservist on leave from the Middle East after allegedly luring him into a motel room.

Tuscaloosa County District Attorney Tommy Smith said prosecutors lost touch with the victim, who was robbed of about $4,000 and beaten badly enough to be treated in the intensive care unit at DCH Regional Medical Center.

“He was the witness,” Smith told The Tuscaloosa News in a story Wednesday. “Without him, we didn’t have sufficient evidence to proceed.”

Smith said the victim is no longer in the military. Police said the department doesn’t release the names of victims.

Jury trials were scheduled to begin Tuesday for Robin Ellis Booth, 44, his wife Melinda Booth, 41, both of Elrod, and Whitney Sheetz, 27, of Tuscaloosa. Prosecutors dropped the charges late last week. Robin Booth was charged with first-degree robbery and attempted murder. Melinda Booth and Sheetz were charged with first-degree robbery.

Police said in February 2005 that the three, who lived in Buhl at the time, met the then-22-year-old soldier at a bar. Police Chief Ken Swindle has said the man, who was living in Guin, had been flashing a lot of money around and had played pool with his friends before he met the suspects. He said one of the women set him up and took him to a motel room where he was robbed.

A number listed for the Booth’s was disconnected when called Wednesday and attempts to reach Sheetz were unsuccessful. A message left with Robin Booth’s attorney, Michael Cartee, wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.