A Santa Monica woman received the fright of her life on Thursday, Jan. 15, after returning home to find a 22-year-old burglar in her lounge room.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out at 4 pm to investigate a report of a residential burglary in the 2500 block of Arizona Ave.
Upon arrival the officers spoke with the victim who told them what had happened.
She said she had arrived home and entered the premises only to encounter a man in her living room who was in the process of removing stereophonic music equipment from the location.
She said that when the man saw her, the man hastened away from the premises by way of a sliding glass door that he had evidently prized open in order to gain entry in the first place.
The victim added that it appeared that a wallet containing several credit cards as well as her cellular phone had been removed from the residence, presumably by the intruder.
Specialists from the SMPD’s Forensic Division combed the home for evidence (such as fingerprints, footwear impressions, hair etc.).
Shortly afterwards, aided by the description that the victim had given the attending officers, a 22-year-old man was arrested and charged with residential burglary. Bail was granted in the amount of $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.
