Colorado Springs – Prosecutors have dropped a federal felony charge filed against a housewife accused of helping her husband desert his Army unit before he was to be sent to Iraq.
Amy Bartell’s attorney said Thursday prosecutors dropped the charge of enticing, abetting a deserter.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Denver confirmed Bartell will not be prosecuted, but declined to comment further.
Her husband, Spc. Dale Bartell, who was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment based at Fort Carson, was convicted of intent to avoid hazardous duty. He was sentenced earlier this month to four months in prison and ordered to be dishonorably discharged once he completed his prison term.
Bartell already served a tour in Iraq and tried declaring himself a conscientious objector. He left his unit twice in early April when he thought he would be deployed.
Amy Bartell said her husband’s philosophies changed since he joined the Army three years ago. The couple joined a Mennonite church in Canon City that claims to be for pacifist Christians.
The couple have four children, ages 1 to 11.
