A 30-year-old Santa Monica resident was arrested and charged with robbery on Wednesday, June 5 after trying to steal a drink.
At 9:39 pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a battery report that had occurred in the 800 block of Montana Avenue.
The officers had been told the suspect was either high on drugs or drunk, or possibly both.
When the officers arrived they spotted a likely suspect and detained him.
The officers noticed this suspect was sporting a number of cuts and abrasions on his forehead, chin, arms, and back.
The officers then spoke with the victim, who was an employee at a market located on the same block.
The victim told the officers he had witnessed this man force open some closed doors at the rear of the market, and remove a beverage from a display, telling the victim, “you need to give me a drink.”
The victim had then stepped in front of the suspect and retorted that the suspect needed to pay for the said beverage prior to consuming it.
The suspect responded by throwing the beverage at the employee and a struggle ensued.
They both fell down to the ground and wrestled until the employee got the upper hand and mounted the suspect, restraining him until the arrival of officers.
This man was arrested and charged with robbery.
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.
