A skateboarding homeless man was arrested in the early morning hours of Saturday, Feb. 14, after officers observed the 20-year-old trying to break into a parked car.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department who were on morning watch and patrolling in the area of Third Street and Pier Ave. spotted a man at 4:15 am riding his skateboard southbound towards the Santa Monica city limits.
This man was carrying a black gym bag, wearing a white backpack, and sporting a pair of gloves.
He stopped next to a parked and unattended Nissan Xterra SUV and proceeded to peer through the front windows.
The officers noticed that whilst he was peering through the windows he also tugged on the drivers’ side door handle, as if he was attempting to open it.
After failing to open the door the man stepped back onto his skateboard and continued to skate in a southbound direction.
The officers followed the suspect and stopped him in the area of Third St. and Marine Ave. in order to ask him why he had been tampering with the Nissan Xterra.
When asked about the officers’ observations the man said that he had not been attempting to open the door of the aforementioned vehicle, but had been relieving himself next to the SUV and had decided to wipe the door handle afterwards with his finger.
The officers asked this man if they could search him and he agreed.
During the course of the search the officers discovered that the man was in possession of a small folding knife, a flashlight, a multi-tool, a pair of latex gloves, a screwdriver, and a coat hanger that had been fashioned into a U-shape.
The officers presented the items in front of the man and when they asked him why he was carrying the items the man admitted that he did indeed have the earlier intention of breaking into the Nissan Xterra.
The officers then arrested this homeless man and he was later charged with attempted burglary, vehicle tampering, and possession of burglary tools. Bail was set at $20,000.
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.
