A 47-year-old man from Roseville was arrested on Wednesday, May 8 after he was caught stealing from the Nordstrom department store in Santa Monica.
At 12:25 pm officers of the SMPD were called out to the store in order to investigate a theft report. When the officers arrived they spoke with the loss prevention agents who told them what had happened.
Apparently, a man had entered the store and had proceeded to conceal some items of clothing upon his person. This man was then seen to place some additional items of clothing on a chair that was situated right next to an exit.
The man then left the store, and when he was outside he noticed that an employee of the store was standing next to the exit and that this employee had witnessed the whole affair.
The man approached this employee and threatened him with physical violence if he dared to utter one word about what he was up to.
This man then returned to the store, retrieved the items from the chair, mounted his bicycle and fled.
The officers went in search of this suspected thief and discovered him at Fourth Street and Olympic Boulevard.
The store employees positively identified the man and the property recovered.
This resident of Roseville, California, was charged with burglary, and petty theft with a prior offense. 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.