Double homicide of teen best friends in Chesapeake, still no arrest 15 years later
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — It was a tragic shooting that sent shockwaves throughout the Hampton Roads community — two teenage lives cut short to gun violence.
And now, 15 years later, Chesapeake police are still working to bring justice to the families.
The double homicide involving 16-year-old Mason Jones and 17-year-old Joshua Compton remains a mystery. A guys’ night in during spring break took a dark turn after Jones was shot to death alongside Compton in the doorway of Compton’s home on April 15, 2009. On a rainy day like this one, Chesapeake police say, they responded to a call from Compton’s mother on Rowland Avenue in the South Norfolk section of Chesapeake, an area no stranger to crime.
“We know that late evening, there was a knock at the door,” said Tracey Alexander of the Chesapeake Police Department’s criminal investigation homicide unit. “Mrs. Compton was home. She was downstairs. She started to respond to the front door, however, ultimately called for Mason, who was upstairs with Joshua, to answer the door. Mason was the first one to make contact at the door. Mrs. Compton said that there was one subject that she saw at the time.
Approximately 10 minutes later, Compton’s mother came back to their home’s entry way due to the open door, which caused a temperature drop in the home. At that point, she noticed there were now two men at the entrance. As it was getting late, she told them to end the conversation and for them to go to bed.
“Mrs. Compton responded back to the living room, and she advised within moments of her retreating back into the living room, multiple gunshots were heard, both which resulted in the death of both Mason and Joshua,” Alexander said.
The two suspects fled the scene in a red getaway vehicle nearby. In total, Chesapeake Police is in search for three suspects involved in the shooting, two of which are described as two Black men.
Physical descriptions, though, are still limited, but investigators do know they were a bit older than Jones and Compton. Since the incident, the investigative team communicates weekly with Jones’ mother to provide updates on the investigation.
“It’s difficult,” Alexander said. “There’s no easy answer for the victims of homicide crimes or murder crimes. There’s nothing that you can say or do to bring their loved one back. What our main focus is right now is to bring justice to those families, and to allow them at least some reprieve over what happened to their loved one, knowing that we are continuing to do our job to keep them safe, as well as all the citizens of Chesapeake.”
There is a reward of up to $1,500 if your information leads to an arrest. Contact the Crime Line at 888-LOCK-U-UP or use the P3Tips app.
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