A Santa Monica man returned to his bicycle to discover a thief in the process of breaking the lock on Friday, June 10, at 6:08 p.m. This thief ran, but the owner followed until police assisted in detaining the would-be crook.
Officers of Santa Monica Police Department responded to a radio call that informed them that an attempted bicycle theft was in progress inside parking Structure No. 8, located at 1552 Second Street. As the officers were en route they received more information, via the radio, that told them that the suspect was running from the location, followed in hot pursuit by the victim, or owner of the bicycle.
The officers detained the suspect in the 200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. The officers investigated the crime and discovered that the victim had returned to the parking structure when he chanced upon the suspect, who was in the act of removing the victim’s bicycle lock by the use of a large vise type of tool. When the suspect noticed that the owner of the bicycle was present he began to run away, sans bicycle, until the officers detained him.
This 40-year-old Inglewood man was placed under a private person’s arrest and taken off to jail where he was charged with petty theft, possession of burglary tools, and a violation of probation. His bail was set at $10,000.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com
