THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, September 14, 1995           TAG: 9509140346
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

ALLEGED PIZZA HUT ROBBER FACES NEW CHARGES HIS ARREST IS THE FIRST IN FBI, PORTSMOUTH POLICE COOPERATIVE.

A North Carolina man released from jail last month when a judge ruled he had not received a speedy trial has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he helped rob a Portsmouth Pizza Hut in 1994.

Fred Blount III, 22, was arrested without incident Tuesday in Edenton, N.C., by the FBI and Edenton police. Blount was taken to Greenville, N.C., for an initial appearance in federal court. Authorities will seek to have Blount returned to Norfolk for trial in U.S. District Court.

Blount faces a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison if convicted of both federal counts: robbery and using firearms during the commission of violence.

On Aug. 1, Portsmouth Circuit Judge Von L. Piersall dismissed charges of attempted capital murder, abduction, robbery and firearms use against Blount. Blount had been in jail 16 months awaiting trial.

In Virginia, prosecutors have five months from the preliminary hearing to bring an incarcerated defendant to trial. Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney Martin Bullock blamed the defense for making numerous requests for delays.

Blount is accused of being one of four gunmen who invaded a Pizza Hut on Airline Boulevard on March 24, 1994, and briefly held employees hostage. Carrying handguns and shotguns, the four men fled after an exchange of shots with an off-duty Portsmouth police officer who happened on the robbery.

Two of the gunmen, 16-year-old Theola A. Saunders and 45-year-old Charles P. Bond, abducted two Portsmouth residents, Leslie Dawn Thomas and her brother Wayne. They took the pair to North Carolina, where Saunders shot and killed Wayne Thomas when he struggled to escape at a convenience store outside Edenton. Leslie Thomas escaped unharmed.

All four men were arrested shortly after Wayne Thomas was shot. Bond and Saunders were both tried and convicted in North Carolina. Saunders was sentenced to life plus 92 years in prison and Bond was sentenced to death.

The third gunman, 20-year-old Anthony Hathaway, was tried and convicted in Portsmouth. Hathaway was sentenced to 29 years in prison.

Blount's arrest is the first accomplished by a new cooperative effort between the FBI and Portsmouth police to investigate gang- and drug-related violence.

KEYWORDS: ARREST ROBBERY by CNB