An worker at a game booth was caught pockets proceeds and handing out prizes to friends and family.
On Friday, July 1, at 10:09 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to Pacific Park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, to investigate a case of employee theft. When they arrived, the officers spoke with the loss prevention agents who told them that they had been watching one of the employees who had been working in one of the parks game booths. They had seen this employee handing out multiple prizes to some of the customers after each game had been played. They had also noticed that this employee had been collecting money for each game, but had not been putting the money into the drop box as required, but instead had been pocketing it.
The officers interviewed this man and during the course of this interview he admitted that he had been giving prizes out to friends and family members, and also that he had been stealing money during his shifts. This 19-year-old Los Angeles resident was arrested and charged with embezzlement. His bail was set at $500.
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
