Homicide Investigation
Sunday, March 16 at 6:10 p.m. – 1500 block of Centinela Avenue – Officers responded to an apartment complex and found the resident dead inside her apartment. It appeared that she died as a result of an assault. It is unknown how long the victim had been dead prior to being discovered. The Police Department issued a release stating that it had received a telephone call from the decedent’s mother, who had been unsuccessfully trying to contact her daughter by phone. The victim has been identified as Juliana Redding, 21 years of age. The Los Angeles County Coroners Office has conducted an autopsy, but as of press time Santa Monica police had placed a security hold on the results.
This is an ongoing investigation and 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 wishing to remain anonymous may call the WeTip hotline at 800.78.CRIME (27463).
Cigarettes on Pico
Monday, March 10 at 1:45 a.m. –Wine Barrel Liquors at 2116 Pico Boulevard – Officers on routine patrol were flagged down by employees who reported that two women had taken packs of cigarettes and left without paying. One of the suspects had also attempted to take two bottles of malt liquor, but an employee grabbed them from her; in the course of that scuffle, the other suspect hit the employee with her fist on his head, thereby elevating the theft to robbery (use or threat of force). Officers located the women, who had fled on foot, in Virginia Avenue Park. They were identified by store employees and arrested for robbery. The cigarettes were recovered.
More Cigarettes
Tuesday, March 11 at 11:17 a.m. – Gift & Photo Store at 113 Broadway – Officers responded and were told that a man had walked into the store, taken several packs of cigarettes, and tried to leave without paying. An employee tried to detain him, but the man made a motion as if to hit her (making the theft robbery) and fled on foot. The responding officers detained the man in the 1500 block of Palisades Park. He was identified by store employees and arrested for robbery. The cigarettes were recovered.
On the Bus
Monday, March 10 at 5:45 p.m. – 1500 block of Ocean Avenue – Responding officers were told that a man came on board a tour bus parked at the location with its door open. The bus was empty but for the driver sitting toward the middle of the bus. The man rifled through passengers’ bags and took items of property. A passing witness called police, and when the thief tried to run from the bus, the witness and the driver detained him on the bus, in the course of which he shoved them and threatened to kill them (robbery, again). When officers arrived, the man still had the stolen property on his person. He was arrested for robbery.
