This story began back on Sept. 26, 2015, at 10:30 pm when a client of the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) reported a crime to the Santa Monica Police Department.
The client (gender unspecified) of OPCC alleged that on the aforementioned date they had exited the OPCC facility, located in the 500 block of Olympic Blvd., and had been approached by the suspect and that the suspect had asked them a question.
The client of OPCC, or victim, had told the police that they had not answered the question and that in response the suspect had grabbed hold of a backpack that they were carrying and had opened it and began to rifle through the backpack.
When the victim had remonstrated and attempted to retrieve the backpack the suspect had pulled a sharp object, possibly a part from a bicycle, out of the backpack and had threatened to stab the victim with the sharp object.
The suspect then removed two sets of keys and a lock from the bag before mounting his bicycle and leaving.
On the above date officers of the Santa Monica Police Department searched for the suspect but were unable to locate him, however, on Wednesday, Dec. 30 one of the responding officers to the original complaint spotted the suspect near the intersection of Fourth Street and Broadway and arrested him for the robbery. Bail for this 50-year-old Los Angeles resident was set at $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.