Two Men Charged After Armed Robbery, Bicycle Theft at Burlington Sports Store

Cody Compton and Garrett Phillips, both 19, were charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon after Burlington police say the pair approached a victim in the Academy Sports parking lot at 655 Huffman Mill Road, threatened them at gunpoint, and stole a bicycle just before midnight on April 4.

The attack came roughly three hours after Academy Sports Burlington closed for the evening; the store's Sunday hours end at 9:00 p.m., leaving the Huffman Mill Road lot largely unoccupied when officers responded to the reported robbery. In addition to the firearm threat, the victim reported being physically assaulted during the confrontation.

Investigators located a vehicle matching the suspect description near the scene. During the stop and subsequent search, officers found the stolen bicycle inside the vehicle. Compton and Phillips were taken into custody without further incident. Both were charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and simple assault, and both were initially held without bond. Burlington police announced the arrests on April 7, three days after the attack.

The case fits a broader surge in armed incidents across Burlington and Alamance County in early 2026. Six weeks before the Academy Sports robbery, Alamance County Crime Stoppers flagged a smash-and-grab jewelry store robbery in Burlington on February 20. In October 2024, the Alamance County Sheriff's Office, working alongside the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, arrested Dwane Curtis Jackson, Lavarris Amar Love, and a juvenile on charges of First Degree Kidnapping and Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon; a fourth suspect, Parris Lavietea Shoffner, was also charged in that case.

FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data for 2024, released in September 2025, puts Burlington's violent crime rate at 952.3 per 100,000 residents, which is 165.2 percent above the national average of 359.0 per 100,000 and 153.4 percent above North Carolina's statewide rate of 375.8. A Burlington resident faces a 1-in-105 annual chance of becoming a violent crime victim, compared to 1-in-266 statewide. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that more than 91 percent of U.S. communities have a lower crime rate than Burlington. The city's total crime rate of 4,037.4 per 100,000 sits 90.51 percent above the national figure of 2,119.2.

Burlington Police Department grew its sworn officer count from 133 in 2023 to 139 in 2024, part of a broader push to expand patrol coverage across commercial corridors including the Huffman Mill Road retail district.

Anyone with information or video footage from the night of April 4 is asked to contact the Burlington Police Department or Alamance County Crime Stoppers at 336-229-7100. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the P3tips mobile app or at P3tips.com.