On Sunday, May 27, at 4:55 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a kidnapping report that had just occurred at a market located in the 3200 block of Pico Boulevard.
When the officers arrived they spoke with the victim who was an employee of the market.
The victim told the officers that as she was working outside in the display tent she saw a man standing in the walkway.
This man was wearing a blue shirt and dark jeans.
The victim had informed this man that the store was still closed and that he should not be there.
This man, she said, appeared to be intoxicated so she again requested that he leave.
The victim then walked back into the store, and looked behind and saw that the man did not appear to be present (physically).
About two minutes passed before the victim went again to the display tent and again this man was not evident.
The victim then felt it was safe to resume her work and was facing the display shelves when she suddenly felt an arm go across her upper body and neck, and a second arm across her upper torso.
This victim was then picked up off the ground and dragged about three feet, at which point she began to struggle with the man and eventually escape and run back into the market.
The suspect then left the scene walking eastbound into a parking lot and out of sight.
A few moments after the victim had told the officers what had happened other responding officers detained a man fitting the suspect’s description at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Centinela Avenue.
This man was then positively identified and arrested for kidnapping.
This 20-year-old Inglewood resident had bail set at $100,000.
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.
