THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280273
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
A former Navy man who returned to Alabama last year bragging about a video-store robbery is now in the city jail charged with that crime, police said Monday.
Robbery Squad Sgt. Tony Zucaro said detectives recently received a phone tip that led to the arrest and cleared the 7-month-old case.
The caller told police that 23-year-old Trent M. Compton boasted that, while stationed in Virginia Beach, he robbed a video-rental store and abducted two female clerks. Robbery records showed that, on July 11, a similar crime was reported at a Blockbuster Video outlet on Holland Road.
In that crime, a man robbed the store and forced two female workers into a van one of the women owned.
The robber made them drive to Interstate 464 in Chesapeake, where he robbed one of the women before releasing both unharmed. He drove away in the van, which was recovered several days later in Norfolk.
Police investigated, but detectives had run out of leads. Then came the phone tip.
Using photographs of Compton from the Alabama Division of Motor Vehicles and the Navy, detectives compiled a photo lineup. At least one of the victims identified Compton as the robber, Zucaro said.
Other evidence gathered by forensic technicians also linked Compton to the crime, Zucaro said, but the sergeant wouldn't elaborate.
Typically, forensic technicians process crime scenes and gather evidence, including fingerprints.
On Feb. 20, Zucaro and Detective Mike Collins boarded the city's private plane - bound for a prisoner pickup in Florida - and hitched a ride to Alabama. There, working with state authorities, they tracked Compton to a home-furnishings rental store where he worked as a salesman.
``We worked very closely with Alabama authorities, we tracked him down in the community, and we placed him in custody on a fugitive warrant,'' Zucaro said. ``He was very surprised.''
Compton, of Attalla, Ala., waived extradition and was returned to Virginia Beach last week.
He has been charged with two counts each of robbery, abduction, using a firearm during a felony and one count of carjacking.
Zucaro said Compton was stationed in Virginia Beach last year, but wasn't sure of Compton's assignment. Compton was apparently discharged from the military in September, police said, although the terms of the discharge weren't available Monday.
He is in the city jail without bond.
Zucaro said one of the robbery victims moved to another state because she was traumatized by the crime. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Compton
KEYWORDS: ROBBERY ARREST by CNB