Prosecutors will drop armed robbery charges against a suspect who briefly took refuge at the home of former District Attorney Eddie Jordan, Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell's office announced Thursday.

WWL-TV

Elton Phillips. (File Photo)

Caldwell's office cited conflicting testimony from witnesses and new evidence for its decision to dismiss the case against Elton Phillips, who was charged with robbing a man at a New Orleans gas station in October 2007.

The alleged victim and a passenger in his car didn't identify Phillips as the suspect and had "irreconcilable inconsistencies" in their accounts of the robbery, Caldwell's office said. A third witness had implicated Phillips but testified that he didn't see the robbery take place, according to prosecutors.

"To go forward with this newly discovered information would not serve the ends of justice and present a serious danger of having perjured testimony presented at trial," Assistant Attorney General Matt Derbes said in a statement.

The Orleans Parish district attorney's office had withdrawn from prosecuting the case because Phillips, reportedly an acquaintance of Jordan's girlfriend, went to the former prosecutor's house after the robbery was reported.

Jordan, who has said he didn't know Phillips, resigned shortly after the incident but said the episode wasn't a factor in his decision. At the time, Jordan's office faced mounting pressure over a $3.7 million debt from a judgment in a discrimination case.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)