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Two Immokalee men jailed since November on charges of beating a man they were accused of trying to rob last winter walked out of court free men recently after the victim couldn’t be located.

Collier County Circuit Judge Fred Hardt denied a motion for a continuance by Assistant State Attorney Robert Denny, and felony attempted robbery charges against Miguel Garcia, 25, and Jorge Jaaziel Cortez-Biera, 19, both of North Eighth Street, were dismissed.

A jury waiting upstairs for their trial was excused and the men, who were confused, were brought into a conference room, where an interpreter and Michael Mummert, an assistant public defender, explained the case couldn’t proceed without the victim. Under the law, defendants have the right to cross-examine their accusers.

Law enforcement officers dropping cases due to missing victims is a common occurrence in Southwest Florida, where there’s a large population of migrant farmworkers and immigrants who often move around, making it difficult for officials to find victims when it comes time for a trial. Some are illegal and fear deportation.

Sheriff’s reports show the men were arrested shortly before 11 p.m. Nov. 9 after a deputy patrolling West Main Street in a marked car spotted three men sitting on a bench at the corner of North 15th Street. One was holding a man’s arms back, and when the car stopped, the man shouted out, "They are trying to rob me. Help me."

Blood was coming out of his nose and there were scratches on his nose, forehead and swelling on his forehead, sheriff’s reports say. The man, Clemente Chan, 23, told the deputy he was sitting on the bench when the men asked for beer. When he said he had none, he said they beat him as one reached into his pockets; nothing was taken.

They were arrested on charges of attempted robbery, battery and providing law enforcement officers with a false name, but only the top charge remained after the prosecution filed a notice of no information on the other two offenses.