Heavy Traffic
On Thursday, May 19, at 6:50 pm dispatch at the Santa Monica Police Department received multiple reports from concerned citizens regarding a man who was in the 1100 block of Harvard Street and yelling at people while running into the street and punching passing traffic. Officers were sent to the location in order to quell the disturbance and also to find out what was going on. Upon arrival at the scene the officers spotted the suspect who was still performing his antics so the officers asked the man to stand still and talk to them. This man did not cooperate with the officers and attempted to run away but after a brief struggle, the officers exerted their authority and took this man into custody. The officers noticed that this man was intoxicated by an over indulgence in alcohol so they arrested this 40-year-old homeless man and he was later charged with public intoxication and forcibly resisting arrest. Bail was set at $25,000.
He Sprang a Surprise.
On Friday, May 20, at 10:30pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department, who were on a routine patrol in the 2300 block of Kansas Avenue, spotted a man who appeared to be acting suspiciously. This man was peering into a variety of parked automobiles and attempting to open many of them by surreptitiously testing the door handles. The officers kept a discrete distance while they kept an eye on the proceedings until they saw that the man had entered a driveway in the 200 block of Kansas Avenue and then exit on a bicycle. The officers immediately apprehended this man and detained him without incident. The officers determined that the bicycle that the man was riding had been stolen and during a search of the suspected bicycle thief the officers discovered a spring-loaded knife upon his person. This 32-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged with theft, prowling, and possession of a spring-loaded knife. Bail was set at $5,000.
No Room at The Inn.
On Saturday, May 21, at 11:09am officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call requesting assistance in removing an uninvited, unwanted and suspected fraudulent guest who had decided to take up residence at the Ocean Park Inn, located at 2452 Lincoln Boulevard. The officers rushed to the location and spoke with the staff members of the inn. The staff members told the officers that the suspect had apparently entered a vacant room without attempting to check in, ask permission or offer any payment. The staff members added that they had asked this man to leave but he had refused and that he had insisted that he stay in the room free of charge. The staff members requested that the officers conduct a private person’s arrest so the officers obliged and this 51-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged with defrauding an innkeeper. After being booked at the police headquarters the suspect was released.
Uber Trouble With a Lyft?
On Friday, May 20, at 2:30am officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call informing them that there was a fight in progress in the 1300 block of Pacific Street. The officers lit up their lights and turned on their sirens and sped to the scene on order to restore order and investigate. When the officers arrived at the location they saw multiple individuals apparently involved in the incident and so the officers detained them all and began to ask questions. The officers learned that the victim was a transportation service driver and that he had picked up his fare in the 1400 block of Broadway a few minutes prior. The transportation service driver had then driven this man to the 1200 block of Pacific Street but the man had become angry and had claimed that the transportation service driver had taken him to the wrong location. At that point the man had exited the vehicle and had stood next to the drivers’ door and wildly yelled and cursed at the transportation service driver. The transportation service driver, fearing for his life, had jumped out of his car and had attempted to flee on foot but the man had caught him, pushed him to the ground, and punched and kicked him several times. At that moment a number of residents had heard the commotion and had arrived on the scene in order to assist the transportation service driver. Based upon the statements by the transportation service driver and witnesses the officers arrested the man, aged 26 and from Mar Vista and he was later charged with aggravated assault. Bail was set at $30,000.
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.
