A Sobering Thought(less).
On Sunday, February 14, at 7:39pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to the CLARE Foundation (a treatment center and sober living facility for drug addicts and alcoholics), located in the 900 block of Pico Boulevard, after a witness had reported that a fight had occurred at the facility. The officers learned that, according to multiple witnesses, the victim had been lying on the couch in the community living room watching television when the suspect had approached the victim, stood over him, and punched him several times in the face and body. The assault had caused the victim to suffer a broken nose. When the officers arrived at the location they took statements from witnesses and then they spoke with the suspect. The suspect told the officers that he had indeed punched the victim but had been very upset because the victim had been repeatedly changing the channel on the television causing any enjoyment of watching a program to be impossible. The suspect said that he had asked the victim why he had changed the channel at which point the victim had become aggressive and confrontational. The suspect said that he had only hit the victim one time. The officers arrested the suspect, aged 54, and homeless, and he was later charged with battery and violation of parole. Bail was not granted.
Something To Hide.
On Sunday, February 14, at approximately 1:00pm uniformed officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call informing them that there was a completely naked man walking on the sidewalk in the area of 31st Street and Ocean Park Boulevard. The officers sped to the scene and as the first officer approached the location he was flagged down by multiple groups of onlookers who pointed northwards as a way of indicating the direction in which the naked man was walking. The officer soon had the naked man in his sights and immediately detained this person. The officer asked this man his name and, given that the man did not possess any official identification, initially accepted the name that the naked man gave him as being the correct one. The officer wanted to verify this information and so utilized the mobile electronic fingerprint reader and it was subsequently discovered that this name was false. This naked 24-year-old Los Angeles resident was arrested and later charged with indecent exposure, giving false information to a police officer and obstructing an investigation. Bail was set at $10,000.
Debt Un-forgiveness.
On Tuesday, February 17, at 11:30am officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the alley between Seventh Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in order to investigate a report of a fight. When the officers arrived at the location they spoke with the victim who told the officers that three weeks prior the suspect had given him a bicycle as a gift after his own bicycle had been stolen. The victim added that the suspect had, on the above date, rammed him from behind as he rode his bicycle on the street. He said that the suspect then began to punch him on the back of his head causing him to fall off the bicycle. The victim added that after he had fallen off the bicycle the suspect continued to punch and kick him. The officers went in search of the suspect and when they caught him the suspect told the officers that he had come to collect the bicycle because he believed that the victim still owed him $100 for the conveyance. The officers did a routine criminal history check on this suspect and discovered that he was currently on probation. This 40-year-old Santa Monica resident was arrested and charged with robbery and a violation of probation. Bail was set at $50,000.
Yoga Class Leads To Unexpected Twist.
This story began on Tuesday, December 22, at 2:30pm when a woman visited the Santa Monica Police Department in order to report a case of extortion. The woman spoke with detectives and told them that she had been in a yoga class some days prior and that after the class had finished she discovered that someone had used her smartphone to send multiple emails containing nude photographs of herself that she had stored on her smartphone to numerous unfamiliar email addresses. She noticed that all of these emails had been sent during the time that she had been in the yoga class. She said that shortly afterwards she began to receive emails threatening that if she did not comply with the extortionist’s demands the photos would be made public and that her career and reputation would be ruined as a result. She added that a few days later she had received multiple social media connect requests from people that she was unacquainted with and that had caused her further anxiety. The detectives performed a thorough investigation and on Wednesday, February 18 they arrested a 30-year-old Santa Monica resident and he was arrested for stalking, unauthorized computer access and fraud. 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.
