Bail was set at $50,000 on Saturday, July 20 for a 53-year-old homeless man who was caught in possession of a shotgun in a Santa Monica school zone and displaying license plates that were not issued to the vehicle upon which they were displayed.
At 3:49 pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to investigate a suspicious man who had been loitering in a dubious fashion at Douglas Park, located on the 2400 block of Wilshire Boulevard.
The officers were informed that this man was a white homeless-looking man wearing a tan shirt and green pajama style plaid pants.
This man had been seen entering and exiting the bathroom facility at the park, and had also been leering at the children’s play area, where many children were playing at the time.
They were also informed that the suspect’s green Ford Explorer with Texas plates was parked nearby.
The officers arrived and found this man walking southbound on Chelsea Avenue towards Wilshire Boulevard.
The officers detained the suspect and spoke with him after they had patted him down for weapons or any other illegal things that he may have been in possession of.
This man subsequently told the officers that he was in possession of an unregistered shotgun that was inside his vehicle.
The officers searched the vehicle and discovered the weapon.
The officers also discovered that the license plates of the vehicle were not actually of the vehicle and in fact belonged to another vehicle.
The officers arrested this homeless man and he was charged with possession of a firearm in a school zone as he was within 1000 feet of McKinley Elementary School.
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.
