Compton v. Commonwealth
| Docket Number | 0040-22-1 |
| Decision Date | 10 January 2023 |
| Parties | ROBERT WAYNE COMPTON, JR., S/K/A MICHAEL COMPTON v. COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA |
| Court | Virginia Court of Appeals |
From the Circuit Court of the City of Chesapeake John W. Brown Judge
Michelle C.F. Derrico, Senior Assistant Public Defender (Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, on briefs), for appellant.
Victoria Johnson, Assistant Attorney General (Jason S Miyares, Attorney General, on brief), for appellee.
Present: Judges Humphreys, Athey and Callins Argued at Virginia Beach, Virginia
Robert Wayne Compton, Jr. appeals his conviction for petit larceny, third offense, under the now-repealed Code § 18.2-104.[1] On appeal, Compton alleges three assignments of error. First, he contends that the trial court erred in convicting and sentencing him under Code § 18.2-104 because that statute was repealed, making his offense no longer felonious at the time of his conviction. Second, Compton contends that the trial court returned inconsistent verdicts by convicting him of petit larceny while finding that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of possession of burglarious tools and destruction of property. Finally, Compton contends that the trial court erred in finding the evidence sufficient to convict him for petit larceny. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
"Under well-settled principles of appellate review, we consider the evidence presented at trial in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the prevailing party below." Baldwin v. Commonwealth, 274 Va. 276, 278 (2007).
In July 2020, Eusman Ahmed was employed as the manager of Skymart, a convenience store in Chesapeake. When he opened the store at 6:00 a.m. on July 6, 2020, he noticed that prize money was missing from the store's "quarter game machine" and that there was a small hole on the right side of the machine that had not been there previously. Ahmed reviewed the store's security footage from the previous day and observed that Robert Compton and another man, later identified as David Frazier, had been playing the machine from 7:57 p.m. to 9:17 p.m. on July 5, 2020. Ahmed recognized Compton as a regular store customer who would sometimes play the quarter game machine, and also recognized Compton by his tattoos.
On July 7, 2020, the owner of the machine, Byron Garin, went to Skymart to inspect the machine after one of the store managers informed him that the machine had been broken into. Upon inspection, Garin noticed the hole on the right side of the machine that had not been there before. He also noticed that money was missing from the machine and that there was only around $10 worth of quarters in the machine. Garin reset the machine by filling it with more money, and a police officer arrived and took pictures of the machine.
On August 6, 2020, Officer Heather Stiffler of the Chesapeake Police Department arrived at Skymart in response to a call from Ahmed that one of the suspects from the incident-namely Compton-was at the store. Officer Stiffler conducted a field interview with Compton, who provided his driver's license, birth date, and social security number.
On March 2, 2021, Compton was indicted for petit larceny, third offense, under Code §§ 18.2-96 and -104, misdemeanor destruction of property under Code § 18.2-137, and possession of burglarious tools under Code § 18.2-94. Compton pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a bench trial was held in the Circuit Court of the City of Chesapeake on March 26, 2021. Evidence of Compton's prior larceny convictions was admitted into evidence, and both Ahmed and Garin testified.
Ahmed testified that he reviewed the security footage occurring from 7:57 p.m. to 9:17 p.m. on July 5, 2020, and identified Compton as one of the individuals in the footage. Ahmed also testified that he reviewed the security footage occurring up until the time the store closed at 10:00 p.m. the day of the incident and that no one else played the game during that time. However, on cross-examination, Ahmed stated that he wasn't sure whether there were any customers playing the game after 9:17 p.m.
Garin testified that, to play the quarter game machine, a player inserts a quarter in the slot at the top of the machine, which falls down into the "playing field." A motorized platform is then activated which pushes coins forward until prize money is pushed into the "winning pocket," a four-by-four-inch opening at the bottom of the machine where players can retrieve their winnings. The more that people insert quarters into the machine, the more "push" there is, creating a greater chance for players to win money. Garin testified that he would put into the machine "a bunch of loose quarters" and four $10 rolls of quarters-one wrapped in a $100 bill and another wrapped in a $50 bill-and would also "throw some loose $20s in there, a couple loose $10s and some $5s." Garin explained that he would wrap the quarter rolls in large denomination bills and place loose paper money in the machine to encourage people to play the game in hopes of winning larger prize money. Garin testified that the position of the hole on the right side of the machine would have made it possible for someone to push money from the playing field into the winning pocket. Garin further testified that he had stocked the machine about a week before the incident and that he had lost around $500 in quarters and different denominations of paper currency. Garin also testified that the machine was equipped with an alarm that would sound if the machine was shaken and that no one reported that the alarm had been activated.
During trial, the Commonwealth entered over thirty video clips of the store's security footage from 7:57 p.m. to 9:17 p.m. on July 5, 2020. The security footage initially shows Compton playing the quarter game machine, with Frazier standing at the right side of the machine. Both men can be seen looking around the store. Frazier performs a twisting motion at the side of the machine. Compton then reaches into the winning pocket, puts something into his pocket, and resumes playing. Frazier looks around the store and makes more twisting motions at the side of the machine. A customer enters the store, and both men look up at the customer. Then Frazier returns his gaze down to the side of the machine and performs more motions at the side of the machine. Both Compton and Frazier reach down to grab something from the winning pocket, and they look around the store. In the video, a store employee can be seen doing janitorial work. Frazier then continues to make twisting motions at the side of the machine. He stops and looks up when a customer enters the store. Frazier looks up again as another customer walks by, and then he bends down and makes more motions at the side of the machine. Frazier stops his motions when a customer enters the store, and then he starts again. Frazier can be seen wiping sweat off his forehead with his shirt. Frazier then bends down and does more twisting motions at the side of the machine, and he looks up as the store employee walks by.
Compton and Frazier then switch positions, and both men continue to look around the store. Frazier wipes more sweat off his face. Frazier begins playing the game, and Compton starts to perform twisting motions at the right side of the machine in a manner similar to Frazier. Frazier picks up something from the winning pocket. Compton bends down and makes more twisting motions. Both Frazier and Compton reach into the winning pocket. Compton continues to bend down and perform motions that appear as if he is inserting and twisting something. Frazier then reaches into the winning pocket, and Compton also reaches into it. Compton continues to make motions at the right side of the machine, and both men look up when a customer enters the store. Compton then continues his motions, and Frazier reaches into the winning pocket. Compton and Frazier switch positions again, with Compton playing the game and Frazier at the right side of the machine. Compton reaches into the winning pocket, and Frazier makes an inserting motion at the side of the machine. Frazier starts to bend down and then stops and nods at a customer leaving the store. Frazier then immediately bends down low and continues making motions at the side of the machine. Frazier stops and stands up when a customer enters the store, and then bends down to make more inserting and twisting motions. Compton reaches into the winning pocket. Frazier bends down and performs an inserting and twisting motion, and then stops when a customer walks by.
After the Commonwealth rested its case-in-chief, Compton moved to strike all the charges. The trial court granted Compton's motion to strike the possession of burglarious tools and destruction of property charges. In granting the motion with respect to these charges, the court reasoned that, although the hole on the right side of the machine was "clearly made" recently by a tool, the court could not determine whether the hole "was made one day and they came back later on, or if it was made by somebody else."
The trial court denied the motion to strike the petit larceny charge. In denying that motion, the court explained that in the security footage Compton and Frazier "look[ed] like antelopes who are ever on the lookout for the lion to come through the grass" and that The court observed that Compton "when he was playing the machine, had his arm, a lot of the time, pressed up on the left-hand side so as to...
To continue reading
Request your trial