Santa Monica police arrested a homeless man on a bicycle on Sunday, Sept. 26 after watching him use a flashlight to peer into parked cars then later discovering burglary tools.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on routine patrol at 5:30 am on this day when they witnessed the man riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in the area of Seventh Street and Broadway in contravention of Santa Monica Municipal Code 3.12.540(a).
The officers waited for a few minutes and during that time saw the suspect using a flashlight to look into parked vehicles as he rode past the vehicles.
The officers then stopped this man and began to ask him questions about his activities.
This man told the officers that he had simply been returning home from working in downtown Los Angeles.
The officers asked this man if they could search his pockets and backpack, to which he agreed.
The officers discovered that this man had been carrying a broken sparkplug (commonly known as “Ninja Rocks” and used to break automobile windows).
The officers also found bolt cutters, pliers, screwdrivers, a cut bicycle lock, and a used hypodermic syringe in his backpack.
Based upon their discoveries the officers arrested this 34-year-old homeless man and he was charged with possession of burglary tools, unlawful possession of hypodermic needles and the municipal code violation.
Bail was set at $500.
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.
