TROY — A Rensselaer County Court judge has dismissed a seven-count violent felony robbery and burglary indictment against three defendants, ruling that District Attorney Joel E. Abelove’s office failed to properly present the case to a county grand jury in July, according to court papers.

“Upon review, the Court now concludes that the evidence presented to the Grand Jury was legally insufficient,” Judge Jennifer Sober ruled Monday in her decision.

The district attorney’s office didn’t present corroborating evidence to back up the testimony of an indicted accomplice, Sober found. That testimony, she noted, was "the only proof presented of each Defendant's participation in the alleged crime."

Mustapha Robinson, Jevon Johnson and Emmanual Holloway were indicted in the April 19 robbery at gunpoint of two individuals in a second-floor apartment on Sixth Avenue in Troy.

Abelove’s office ran into the same issues in a 2016 double homicide that has to date been presented to a county grand jury three times. Twice, defense motions led State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Ceresia to dismiss the grand jury indictment; Ceresia is currently considering the defense motions for a third round of indictments.

Abelove will leave office at the end of the year following his defeat last month by Democrat Mary Pat Donnelly.

Robinson, Johnson and Halloway were indicted for one count of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree robbery, one count of third-degree burglary, two counts of first-degree burglary and one count of third-degree burglary.

The three faced 25-year prison sentences if they had been convicted on either the first-degree robbery or first-degree burglary counts.

The Rensselaer County Court Clerk’s Office said Tuesday the case file was sealed and not available for review.

Abelove did not respond to a request for comment. In past cases, he has not commented on sealed or pending criminal matters.

Robinson was represented by the Conflict Defender’s Office; Johnson by the Public Defender’s Office; and Holloway by assigned counsel.

The lack of corroborating evidence in the 2016 double homicide case handled by Abelove’s office led to charges being dropped against one of four accused defendants. The two victims in that case and the four defendants were all Mexican nationals in this country without proper documentation.

Two murder indictments against Cresencio Salazar were dismissed twice by Ceresia when Abelove’s office couldn’t provide evidence to support accomplices' testimony. Salazar was handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

Ceresia is reviewing motions pending for the third indictment of Alfredo Monge Guevara and Salomon Najera Hernandez, who are accused of killing roommates Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez and Javier Gomez Bartolon. (Salomon Najera Hernandez and Cristian Gonzalez Hernandez were not related.)

The fourth defendant, Magdaleno Perez Calixto, is awaiting sentencing for his December 2017 guilty plea to burglary and kidnapping charges. His sentencing date is Jan. 4, though it has been moved several times.