A man arrested and charged in a Wichita, Kan., bank robbery has been linked to a Salt Lake homicide and at least three area bank robberies.
Samuel Joseph Compton, 38, was arrested in Wichita June 12 for the 5:15 p.m. robbery at Southwest National Bank, said Wichita FBI special agent in charge Dan Jiblonski. Compton escaped from the bank in a waiting cab. Police followed the cab and Compton was arrested.During the course of the investigation, Compton told detectives about a homicide and three bank robberies in Salt Lake City, Wichita police said.
Two Salt Lake detectives who went to Wichita Wednesday have linked Compton to the slaying of James Frederick Stevens, 55, who was discovered June 10 in an apartment complex at 255 S. 400 East, when the landlord went to pick up the rent check, Salt Lake police Lt. Phil Kirk said.
Stevens was stabbed repeatedly in the chest and died from those wounds. He was dead for several days before being found, Kirk said.
Compton has also been identified as the robber who held up Key Bank, 50 S. Main St. inside the Crossroads Plaza, on June 3; and the First Security Bank, 6161 S. State St., June 4; and the Wells Fargo Bank, 60 E. Temple, the same day, Kirk said.
Police have always believed those robberies were linked because the description of the robber was similar and in each case, the robber handed a note to tellers that read: "I have a gun. Give me the money."
Compton robbed at least one other Utah bank, this one in 1988, the U.S. Marshal's service said. In May 1991, Compton was arrested for violating the conditions of his parole on an 1988 robbery charge, Marshal Randall Anderson said.
Police in Wichita also believe Compton may be responsible for bank robberies in Las Vegas, Nev.; San Diego, Calif.; and Provo. An investigation continues, Kirk said.