Sweatshirts
Thursday, January 17 at 3:50 p.m. – Santa Monica Place – After “shopping” at Steve and Barry’s, a man and woman left the store holding a large mesh bag of clothing. The man was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the store tags still dangling from it. Employees noticed these circumstances and followed the couple. The man became combative, picked up a pipe in an alley, refused to return the merchandise, and challenged the employees to fight. When police arrived, the couple had fled, but other officers observed the couple in the 1200 block of Palisades Park and detained them. After they were identified by store employees in a field show-up and three sweatshirts with store tags were recovered, they were arrested for armed robbery (the pipe) and burglary.
Trailer
Friday, January 11 at 9:30 p.m. – Trailer park in 2900 block of Colorado Avenue -– Officers responded to a report that two people appeared to have taken up residence in a trailer the owner of which was known to be out of the state at the time. The man and woman told police that they had visited the owner a year before and the owner had told them they could “stay anytime.” When police contacted the owner, he denied having given any such permission. The man was arrested for burglary.
Guitar
Tuesday, January 8 at 11:00 a.m. – 2200 block of 21st Street – A man (victim) arrived home to find his cabinets open and apparently ransacked. Looking out his kitchen window, he saw a man in his back yard holding a large bag and a guitar that belonged to him (the victim). The victim yelled that he was calling the police, whereupon the suspect dropped the bag and guitar and fled to the alley where a getaway car and driver were waiting. The victim supplied police with a description of the suspect and the license number of the getaway car, and follow-up investigation resulted in the arrest of both suspects two days later.
Sledge Hammer
Thursday, January 10 at 4:00 p.m. – Parking Structure 5 at 1440 4th Street – A Community Services Officer driving down the alley heard a window shatter, a loud bang, and then a car alarm sound. Investigation disclosed a parked car with its window broken out and a suspect hiding at the end of a parking aisle holding a sledgehammer and a woman’s purse. He was detained and then arrested by police for auto burglary.
