On Friday, March 23, at 9:19 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the 2100 block of 21st Street after receiving a report of a suspicious vehicle that was parked on the street, containing a man who appeared to be asleep in the driver’s seat.
When the officers arrived, they discovered a Mercury convertible and noticed that the driver was slumped over the steering wheel of the car.
The officers then looked inside the passenger window and saw a small clear plastic bag containing what the officers believed to be Methamphetamine, as well as a glass smoking pipe, lying on the passenger seat.
The officers then contacted the driver who immediately tried to conceal the narcotics and the pipe by placing them into the center console. The officers then removed this man from the vehicle and conducted a search whereupon they discovered the drugs, the pipe, and also a loaded 38-caliber handgun.
The officers then investigated further and discovered that this man was a convicted felon with a history of burglary and narcotics possession. This 45-year-old Venice resident was arrested and charged with, take a breath… possession of a firearm near a school, felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm in a public place, possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine base for sale, possession of a controlled substance while armed, and last, but least, possession of drug paraphernalia.
This man’s bail was set at $50,000.
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.
