Gun heist again puts Compton under scrutiny

COMPTON, Calif. - The guns were kept in a 1920s-era vault in a municipal building on North Alameda Street.

Compton officials struggled for months to say where they came from, and now where a load of them have gone.

The city dismantled its police force 18 years ago. Were they left over from the old department? Were they sidearms removed four years ago from code enforcement officers who had taken to arming themselves? Were they purchased as part of a failed push to revive the police force in 2010?

Those were the questions last year when a new city manager, Cecil Rhambo Jr., learned about the stash in the old City Hall building from a code enforcement officer. He