Door Jam.
On Monday, February 1, at 11:00pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a call from a witness who told them that there was a man who appeared to be trying to open parked car doors. The cars were situated in the 1400 block of Euclid Street. The witness stated that the suspect had been touching door handles and that when the suspect had spotted the witness driving towards him he had stopped and attempted to act casually. The witness had then circled the block and returned and had his suspicions confirmed when he once again saw the suspect trying to open parked cars. When the Santa Monica Police Department officers arrived at the location they immediately spotted the suspect standing in the street near a Subaru dealership, so they detained the suspect. The officers spoke with the suspect who refused to tell them his name. The officers then asked the witness to identify the suspect as the person that the witness had seen attempting to open car doors and the witness dutifully obliged. The officers then arrested this 36-year-old homeless man and he was charged with vehicle tampering and obstruction of justice. Bail was set at $10,000.
Fast Credit Card Disapproval.
On Wednesday, February 3, at 11:15pm eagle-eyed officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on routine patrol in the area of the 2900 block of Pico Boulevard when they spotted a vehicle that displayed numerous vehicle code violations as it travelled down the street. The officers stopped this vehicle and asked the female driver if she could produce her drivers’ license, but she said that she could not. Instead the woman offered the officers an Identification Card. The officers inquired via their computer system as to whether this woman had any outstanding warrants and the result was that she did indeed have a warrant for domestic battery from another law enforcement agency. The officers then conducted a search of the woman’s vehicle and discovered numerous gift and credit cards that had other people’s names on them. Additionally the officers discovered a substance that, due to their training, the officers deduced could well be the illegal drug methamphetamine. When questioned about the credit cards, this woman said that she did not know who owned the cards and that she had simply found them on the floor of her car. She added that she had been holding the methamphetamine for a friend. The officers arrested this 21-year-old Bellflower resident and she was later charged with possession of stolen charged cards and possession of a controlled substance. Bail was set at $70,000.
Help!
On Thursday, February 4, at about 7:30pm, officers of the Santa Monica Police Department conducted a code three alert as a result of a report of domestic violence at a residence located in the 2200 block of Colorado Avenue. When the officers arrived at the location they spotted the suspect and detained him. The officers then spoke with the victim and her daughter. The victim said that on the afternoon of the above date her husband (the suspect) had been arguing with her about finances. She said that her husband (who is unemployed) had arrived at the residence in an intoxicated state and had asked her to give him some money so that he could purchase some medical (?) marijuana from a local dispensary. In addition, she said that he wanted her to drive him to a friend’s house so that he could smoke the marijuana at that location. She told the officers that she had complied with his requests but when they had arrived at the friend’s home they discovered that the friend was not in residence. She told the officers that they had continued to argue so she had dropped her husband off at a local supermarket before she returned to her home. She said that later on that afternoon the husband returned home and they resumed the argument. She added that he had held her by the hair and punched her in the face. At that moment the victim’s teenage daughter had intervened by grabbing a baseball bat from a gym bag and hit the husband on the head with the bat. This had enraged the husband and he responded by grabbing his daughter by the throat and punching her in the face. She said that they both grappled with the suspect and managed to break free and call the police. The officers then spoke with the suspect who refused to cooperate with the officers and simply demanded that his wife and daughter be arrested for assaulting him. The officers concluded that the victim and her daughter had acted in self-defense and they arrested this 42-year-old Santa Monica resident and he was later charged with domestic violence and child abuse. At the time of going to press the bail information was unknown.
He Showed No Restraint.
On Saturday, February 6, at 1:00am officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to the 1500 block of Pacific Coast Highway in response to a report of three or four people who had been seen kicking one victim. When the officers arrived at the scene they spotted a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy in the parking lot. The Sherriff’s Deputy was talking with a male subject. Officers then noticed that another man and a woman were standing nearby. The officers deduced that these two had also been involved in the incident. The officers questioned these two individuals and discovered that the female had been the victim and that she had been involved in an argument with the man to whom the Sherriff’s Deputy was speaking. They also discovered that this man was the significant other of the victim. The officers then learned that the argument had begun earlier the day in Pacific Palisades and had continued as the group had driven to Santa Monica. When they had arrived at the beach parking lot they exited the vehicle and the victim’s boyfriend reached for the victim’s wallet whereupon a struggle had ensued. During the course of the struggle the victim had fallen to the ground and the boyfriend proceeded to punch her in the face several times. The victim at that time noticed the Sherriff’s Deputy present in the lot and cried out for help. The victim informed the officers that this was not the first time that the suspect had assaulted her and added that she already had a restraining order against him. The officers therefore arrested this 29-year-old Los Angeles resident and he was charged with violating the terms of the restraining order and spousal battery Bail 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.
