Up to six good Samaritans helped detain a 6’1” man on Saturday, Jan. 17, inside a Santa Monica Vons supermarket after the man had stolen a bottle of liquor.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called to the Vons in the 700 block of Broadway at 11 am in order to investigate a report of a possible fight in progress involving a man who was 6’1” tall, as well as six other individuals of various heights.
Upon arrival the officers were met by a store security guard who escorted the officers to a suspect who had been restrained by other Vons staff members.
The security guards told the officers that the man had stolen a bottle of an alcohol from the store, and so the officers searched this individual and not surprisingly discovered the liquor bottle concealed upon his person.
The man had earlier been apprehended by store staff who had also been assisted by store patrons, hence the initial report of a fight between the 6’1” man and six other individuals.
The officers spoke with the staff members and other witnesses who told the officers that in addition to the detained suspect a female accomplice had been involved, but had fled the scene.
The officers arrested this 51-year-old man and he was charged with theft. Bail was not granted.
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.
