Orting citizens take back streets, fight crime after murder
Apr 18, 2014, 11:59 AM | Updated: 1:16 pm
Michael Compton, 53, grew up in the same house in Orting where he died. Detectives believe he may have been shot during a struggle after interrupting a burglary in his garage in the middle of the night. (Image courtesy Crime Stoppers)
(Image courtesy Crime Stoppers)
The murder of resident Mike Compton shocked the small town of Orting. The search continues for whoever shot him dead on his front lawn two months ago, but in the meantime, a group called Compton’s Crew, named in his honor, is going on nightly patrols looking for criminal activity.
“We decided to form this group because Orting is in crisis right now between murder, heroin and methamphetamines. We’re trying to clean up our town and take it back from the people who are running these drug houses,” Chris Hopfauf, the leader of Compton’s Crew, tells KIRO Radio’s Morning News.
Hopfauf says he won’t speculate specifically about who killed Compton, but he thinks the drug problem in the area had something to do with it.
“There are well-established drug houses in Orting that are doing business right now and business is good. The crime, the burglaries that we are experiencing out here are a direct result of the addiction that is running rampant in our town.”
The crew, made up of Orting community members, is hoping its presence will make a difference.
“We are just basically deterring crime by driving through the dark alleys in the spots where most of the crime is being committed,” says Hopfauf.
Since they began their patrols, Hopfauf says the whole community has stepped up to try and combat the negative forces they feel are rooted in illegal drug operations in the town.
“The police department has stepped up, the city council has stepped up, the citizens of Orting have stepped up, so the awareness we’ve created is a very positive thing that is going on out here.”
