On Thursday, July 14, at 11:10 a.m., officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the Post Tel Business Center, located at 2118 Wilshire Boulevard, to investigate a report of a customer who was harassing everyone in the building.
When the officers arrived at the scene they attempted to talk with the suspect, but he was not willing to talk, or comply with any of the officers’ requests. The suspect refused to even leave the premises, and eventually had to be forcefully escorted out.
The officers then spoke with the victim and other witnesses who told them that this man used to have a post box at the location, but had lapsed in paying for its use. The courteous owner had continued to collect his mail however, but this man had entered the store that day and accused the owner of losing a check that he was expecting. The suspect had freaked out and become angry. He had then proceeded to chase away several customers, and had also refused to leave the store.
The officers had enough evidence, obtained from the victim and witnesses, to arrest this 61-year-old homeless man and charge him with trespassing in
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