The Region - News from May 11, 1987

Two Compton residents suspected of making the drug PCP were arrested after a motorist told Sheriff’s Department deputies that she witnessed the men dumping empty canisters in an alleyway in the 2400 block of 115th Street in an unincorporated area near Compton. Robert Chavez and Sanoa Laumau, both 29, were taken into custody after deputies saw them driving a pickup truck seen by the motorist in the alleyway, where 15 to 20 empty canisters of chemicals used to make PCP were found, said sheriff’s Sgt. John Andrews. Deputies went to the suspects’ houses in the 1500 block of Acacia Avenue, where 20 to 30 five-gallon canisters filled with ether and benzene were found in the backyard, Andrews said. The volatile and toxic chemicals are used to manufacture PCP, a potent narcotic, Andrews said.