A 34-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 4 for trying to break into a set of lock boxes to access an apartment building on the 1600 block of Fifth Street.
At 7 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the location after they had received a report of a man who had been attempting to break into a set of lock boxes (that contained keys to the building) in the subterranean parking garage area at the address in question.
Upon arrival they spoke with the janitor of the building who was the person who had called the report in to the police.
The janitor told the officers he had seen a man attempting to break into the lock boxes and he had confronted the alleged burglar and asked him what he thought he had been doing.
The alleged burglar had responded by telling the janitor that he had been attempting to get the keys to the building.
It was at that point that the janitor had summoned the assistance of the police, as well as informing the building manager.
Additional officers were requested in order to search the building and surrounding area, and they eventually discovered this man hiding behind a wall in the parking garage.
This man made a futile attempt to escape and, after a brief struggle, was detained by the officers.
This Los Angeles resident was arrested and charged with burglary and resisting arrest.
Bail was set at $20,000.
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.
