On Friday, Oct. 19, at 10:42 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on routine patrol in the 300 block of Colorado Avenue when they saw a suspect who was known to them as a man who had a long history of stealing electricity.
This man had repeatedly stolen electricity from The City of Santa Monica in order to charge various electronic devices, in violation of a California Penal Code.
The officers had warned this man not to do this in the past so they decided that on this occasion, given that he was in the act of flagrantly stealing electricity in full view of the officers, they would shock him into realizing the seriousness of the situation by amping up their response to his behavior, exercising their power, and charging him with theft of public utilities.
This 51-year-old Santa Monica resident is currently free on $500 bail
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.
