A Santa Monica man was arrested on Saturday, March 22 for helping to steal more than $200,000 of jewelry from a home where he had been hired as a mover.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call informing them that a theft had occurred at a house in the 1100 block of San Vicente Boulevard at 10:30 pm on this day.
Upon arrival the officers spoke with the victims who told them they had been in the process of moving and had hired two men to assist. These men had come highly recommended by a “friend.”
The men had, according to the victims, assisted with the moving for a few days and had also stayed in the guesthouse during the course of the enterprise.
On the above date, one of the victims said she had seen one of these men leave the house with a backpack on, and added that she thought that to be suspicious.
The victim then said that she had checked her jewelry and had found that six boxes of jewelry were missing.
The victim then called one of these men on the phone and requested that they both return forthwith.
Only one of the men returned.
During questioning from the victim about the missing jewelry, the suspect hinted the pair might have the items, but that they could only be returned if a monetary reward was offered.
At that point the police were called.
The officers, based upon the testimony of the victims, arrested this 34-year-old Santa Monica resident and charged him with grand theft. Bail was set at $45,000.
The estimated value of the jewelry was put at $204,000.
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.
