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Spotsylvania rape trial declared a mistrial after judge is unable to return to bench Date published: 11/4/2005
By BILL FREEHLING A mistrial was declared yesterday in a Spotsylvania County rape trial after a sudden illness prevented the judge from finishing. Retired Fairfax Judge Howe Brown was taken to Mary Washington Hospital on Wednesday after he became too ill to continue hearing evidence in the case of Mackensie Elliot Dobbins. Brown went home Wednesday night after receiving treatment for a nonlife-threatening ailment, according to numerous Spotsylvania court personnel. Dobbins, a 25-year-old Fredericksburg man, is accused of raping, sodomizing, robbing and abducting a 21-year-old woman the night of May 3 at a laundry in Thornburg. Judge Brown heard evidence from six prosecution witnesses Wednesday before falling ill shortly after lunch. He had hoped to return yesterday morning. When that didn't happen, Circuit Judge Horace Revercomb III granted a motion for mistrial and told the jurors they were free to leave. A new trial has been set for Nov. 17. Another jury will have to be selected, and the rape victim will again have to provide graphic testimony. The woman testified Wednesday that she was attacked while doing laundry at the Soap and Suds near the intersection of Mudd Tavern Road and U.S. 1. The woman, who is married with children, said she was raped and sodomized at gunpoint. She sobbed at times while testifying from the witness stand. Darryl Sherrod Moore, a 27-year-old Stafford County man, pleaded guilty to the crime Wednesday morning before Dobbins' trial began. Moore got 33 years in prison. Defense attorney John Spencer argued that Moore forced Dobbins to participate in the assault. Dobbins believed Moore would kill him otherwise, Spencer said Wednesday. After leaving the victim that night, Moore and Dobbins are accused of driving to Fredericksburg and robbing four men at a Snowden Village apartment. Their trial is scheduled in the city on Nov. 22. To reach BILL FREEHLING:
1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
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