More than two months after an identified gang member shot 18-year-old Jazzming Patton in Compton, the Compton division of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has not made any arrests. Patton, who suffered a severed artery when she was shot in the upper right leg, is now home from the hospital after undergoing three surgeries. She is scheduled for one more in June. 

"She's been through a lot, but thank God she is recovering," said her mother, Lila Perry. "We're all just so happy she'll make a full recovery." 

The investigation into the shooting got off to a slow start. The lead detective on the case, Patrick Escamilla, initially failed to contact the victims after the shooting until two reporters called the phone number on the incident report and confirmed that it was a working number.

But while the victim's family was initially unsatisfied with the sheriff's department's efforts, they were ultimately happy with the job Escamilla did.

According to Perry, Escamilla "aggressively" pursued the case after contacting the family and would frequently visit their home asking questions about the incident. "[Escamilla] came by often to help Jazzming and LaJanae [Jazzming's sister who was fleeing the assailant when the man opened fire] identify the man who started shooting," she said. "I was very pleased with their efforts." 

In April, however, Escamilla was promoted and became ineligible to work cases like Patton's. "Escamilla had a task force promotion," said Sergeant Anthony Spatola of Operation Safe Streets, the department in charge of investigating crimes committed by street gangs. "He's a really hard worker."

Once Escamilla got promoted, the investigation stalled again.

At a chance encounter at the station while Patton was filing her victim's report, Escamilla approached Patton and introduced her to Deputy Robert Jones, who was taking over as lead detective for the case. 

"Since Detective Jones was assigned to the case, we have not heard anything from the Sheriff's Department," said Perry. "They haven't called once and it's been two weeks. I don't even know who this Jones is." 

Jones did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin, a longtime critic of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said he is deeply "saddened" by the failure of the Sheriff's Department to make an arrest in the case. "I'm surprised as a law enforcement officer, somebody who's been in law enforcement over 25 years of my life, I'm very surprised," said Perrodin. 

Perrodin, who was reelected last month to serve another term as Compton mayor, is pushing to reinstate the Compton Police Department and remove the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department from the city. "I want the sheriff's out of here," he said during his campaign. 

The Sheriff's Department took over in 2000 amidst allegations of corruption within the city-run police department. 

One of Perrodin's main criticisms of the Sheriff's Department is that many crimes remain unsolved. Perrodin said that the way the Patton case is being handled exemplifies the problems with the sheriff's department. "Because you do not have ties to the community and because the community does not feel that you're with them, they're not going to communicate with you, and if they don't communicate with you, you're not going to be able to solve no crimes," said Perrodin. 

The Sheriff's Department does not keep statistics on unsolved crimes.

Like Perrodin, Royce Esters, a community activist, said a lack of attachment to the community is hurting the sheriff department's effectiveness. 

"I think that you need to have your local police department so they can be protected by the community," he said. "We need to make them accountable to this community. They need to be doing their job."

Lila Perry said she and her daughters are not interested in taking sides. 

"Maybe I'll wake up and say to myself today is the day to call [the sheriff's department] and give them hell for not contacting us," said Perry. "Today is not that day. I'm just happy my baby is going to be all right." 

According to Spatola, the case is still under open investigation and further details relating to the department's progress cannot be disclosed.