Burglary, Really
Wednesday, June 6 at 6:15 p.m. – Circuit City at 1251 4th Street – A transient gentleman entered the store and attempted to get a store credit card issued to him so as to purchase a large-screen TV. [Where would he put…never mind.] An employee recognized the California driver’s license offered as ID for the credit card as phony and called the police. When officers arrived, the fellow had left. But he returned to the store at 9:00 p.m. Employees recognized him and called police again, and they detained the man. He was arrested for attempted burglary (he entered a structure with criminal intent) and forgery (he had put his picture on someone else’s CDL, who was not a party to the fraud.)
Robbery, Really
Wednesday, June 6 at 1:55 p.m. – Wild Oats Market in the 500 block of Wilshire Boulevard – A woman entered the store, took a bottle of apple juice from the counter, put it in her handbag. And left without paying. When store security tried to detain the lady, she resisted. In the resulting struggle, she broke free and fled. Responding SMPD officers detained her in the 600 block of Wilshire Boulevard, and she was positively identified by store employees. She was arrested for robbery – the physical confrontation having raised the stakes from mere theft.
Assault and Battery, Really
Thursday, June 7 at 5:35 p.m. –The Spot at 117 Broadway – A guy entered the store and attempted to take some merchandise from the counter. A store employee grabbed his hand to prevent the theft, and the “customer” slapped his hand away. The employee called Santa Monica’s finest, who arrested the guy for assault and battery (unauthorized touching: battery; and the threat thereof: assault)…and for violation of probation.
Cold Coffee (Assault and…)
Tuesday, May 22 at 10:45 a.m. – The Coffee Bean at 1312 Third Street Promenade – A woman at the condiment counter kept adding cream and sugar (or perhaps reasonable facsimiles thereof) to her coffee, again and again, and generally making a mess, until a customer approached and asked if there was anything wrong, or if she needed help, or some such. The woman became argumentative, threw her coffee on the customer, and walked out. Employees called the police. Responding officers found the woman at Jamba Juice in the 300 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, where she was detained, identified by the good Samaritan customer, and arrested for assault and battery, even though the coffee had been cold.
