On Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 7:16 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to Santa Monica Audi at 1020 Santa Monica Boulevard to investigate a fraud case. When they arrived they detained a suspect and spoke with the employees who told the officers the man had shown up at the dealership and was very keen to purchase a car. He chose the one that he liked and attempted to purchase it.
The problem arose when the employees suspected that his driver’s license was fake, which is when they summoned the police. The officers looked at the license and immediately recognized it was fraudulent. They then performed a computer check on the suspect and discovered his real identity. The suspect was then arrested and searched, whereupon the officers discovered a number of counterfeit $100 bills. Instead of leaving in an Audi, this 34-year-old resident of Bakersfield left in a police vehicle and faces charges of attempted grand theft of an automobile and forgery. His bail was set at $35,000.
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.
