Anyone with Additional Information…
Monday, January 7 at 10:00 p.m. – 2500 block of The Beach (near restrooms) – A witness on the beach called police regarding Unknown Trouble, having seen a woman naked from the waist down and bleeding from her face. Responding officers found the transient woman, who said that earlier in the evening she had been befriended by a man, went to a liquor store with him, and bought alcohol and took it back to the beach to drink. The man later attacked and raped her and beat her in the face with his fists. She then fled and eventually found the witness with a cell phone. The woman was taken to a local hospital, treated, and released.
This is an ongoing investigation. The suspect is described as a Black man, late 30s, 5-foot-8, heavy set, black hair, goatee, all black clothing, no teeth, possible first name Larry. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Santa Monica Police Department at 310.458.8427 (24 hours) or Detectives at 310.458.8451 (M-F, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.). Anyone desiring to remain anonymous may call the WeTip hotline at 800.78.crime.
What Not to Steal
Tuesday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m. – Somewhere in Santa Monica -– Two SMPD “motor officers” (that’s coptalk for motorcycle officers) parked their cycles and left their helmets, gloves, and sunglasses on the bikes while they went into a restaurant. When they returned, the gloves and sunglasses were missing. Recalling that they had seen a person known to them while they were in the restaurant, they drove to the location where the known person was known to hang out (near 20th Street and Pico Boulevard) and found her. She returned the gloves (saying they had been given to her by someone else), but abjured any knowledge of the sunglasses. The officers returned to the vicinity at which they first parked the bikes and detained a fellow (perhaps also known to them) who eventually gave up the sunglasses on a search. They were both arrested for possession of stolen property.
Ping Pong
Thursday, January 10 at 11:35 p.m. – Busby’s at 3110 Santa Monica Boulevard – When officers responded on an assault and battery call, witnesses pointed to a suspect walking away, and she was detained. Investigation revealed that the suspect had been playing ping pong when she was approached by another woman who complained that the suspect was hogging the table, or something more or less to that effect. The suspect pushed the complainant, and a struggle ensued, as they say. The suspect hit the victim in the face, resulting in some nasty swelling around the eye. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated and released. The suspect was arrested for assault and battery. [Do you remember when ping pong represented the hope of world peace?]
