Santa Monica police arrested a 33-year-old homeless man on Friday, May 15, after discovering he was in possession of a stolen laptop computer while riding illegally on the sidewalk.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department who were on routine patrol in the 1600 block of Fifth Street noticed a man at 2:30 pm who was riding his bicycle on the sidewalk.
The officers stopped the man and told him that riding a bicycle on the sidewalk was a violation of a municipal code.
The man told the officers that he had no idea that riding on the sidewalk was prohibited (hence the name “sidewalk” as opposed to “sidecycle,” or “sideskate”).
The officers asked this man if he could produce identification to which he responded that unfortunately he didn’t due to the fact that his wallet had been stolen. The officers did, however, observe that this man was in possession of a messenger bag containing a laptop computer.
The officers asked this man if the computer was his and he told them that he had indeed purchased the laptop two years earlier.
The officers asked the man if they could take a look at the computer and he agreed, so they booted the device and immediately noticed that the contact information of the computer was for an individual other than the person to whom they were talking.
The officers contacted the individual referenced in the contact information contained in the computer and this man said that the computer had in fact been stolen from his vehicle the day before.
The officers arrested this homeless man and he was charged with riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in addition to being in possession of stolen property.
Bail was set at $20,000.
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