Barking Up The Wrong Tree!
On Tuesday, June 21, at 7:25 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to the Santa Monica Animal Shelter, located at 1640 Ninth Street, in order to investigate an attempted burglary. When the officers arrived at the location they spoke with Animal Control officers who told them that a padlock and hasp on one of the kennels had been damaged and that they had also found a large rock outside the gate. There had not been any successful entry to the kennel and the stray dog that had been found the previous day was still residing in the kennel. The Animal Control Officers told the Police Officers that the owner of the stray dog had been notified that the dog was a guest at the shelter and as the Police Officers and Animal Control Officers were discussing the incident the owner of the dog arrived on the scene. The owner of the dog told the officers that he had jumped the shelter fence the night before and had attempted to break the lock with the rock in order to get his dog back. After hearing this, the officers arrested this 33-year-old West Hollywood resident and he was charged with burglary. Bail was set at $20,000.
No Planted Evidence.
On Wednesday, June 22, at 5:30 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department spotted a man lying in the middle of the sidewalk in the 1400 block of Lincoln Boulevard. The officers stopped their vehicle and woke this man up, and after they had done so the man began to ramble incoherently. The man then rose to his feet and began to walk away while still mumbling gibberish. After walking for a few feet the man looked at a potted plant, stopped, picked up the potted plant and in full view of the officers smashed it on the ground. The man then put the icing on the cake of his handiwork by throwing the contents of the plant pot against the window of a business. The officers thus arrested this 53-year-old homeless man and he was charged with destruction of property. Bail was set at $500.
Where There’s Smoke There’s Crime.
On Saturday, June 25, at 1:38 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on patrol in the 1400 block of Fifth Street when they eyed two individuals who were standing in front of a large apartment complex. The officers noticed that these two people were smoking cigarettes. According to a Santa Monica Municipal Code the act of smoking cigarettes is prohibited within 20 feet of entryways and windows of any buildings open to the public, in any outdoor dining areas, at any local beach, park or Farmers’ Markets, on the Santa Monica Pier, at the Third Street Promenade and in public libraries, including the grounds of said libraries, in addition to any bus stops, ATM lines or other service areas. The officers also noticed that this male and female pair was blocking the entrance to the apartment building with two bicycles. With their suspicions activated the officers spoke with this couple and discovered that the female was on probation and also had a no bail warrant from the Los Angeles Police Department. They also discovered that the male was on probation as well. The officers conducted a compliance search and found that the male possessed a number of tools in his backpack in addition to a pair of heavy-duty cutting pliers in his jacket pocket. The officers detained the pair and then obtained access to the subterranean parking garage of the complex and saw that a lock had been cut next to where the bicycles were stored. At that time the officers were unable to locate the victim of a bicycle theft in the complex but after putting two and two together and getting what appeared to be an unequivocal “four” the officers arrested this pair and took them off to jail. The male, aged 44, and of Santa Monica was charged with possession of burglary tools and a violation of the Santa Monica smoking laws while the female, aged 24, was charged with receiving stolen property as well as the smoking violation. Bail was not granted to the female but the male was released after being cited due to medical conditions.
Mid-Morning Madness.
On Saturday, June 25, at 11:30 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department rushed to the 1800 block of Wilshire Boulevard in order to investigate a report of a battery. When the officers arrived at the location they encountered a woman and her 8-year-old son standing at the intersection. The officers noticed that the woman was crying hysterically and that her body was shaking. The officers managed to calm the woman down enough to discover that she had been out walking with her son when a stranger approached them and began to curse them before grabbing the woman’s purse and attempting to rip it from her shoulder. She said that the suspect had yelled, “Give me that!” as he had attempted to grab the purse. The woman was able to pull the purse back from the clutches of the assailant but by that time the man had grabbed her son with his other hand. The woman’s maternal instincts kicked in at that moment and she began to swing wildly at the suspect. The woman was able to free her child from the man’s grasp and at that time the mother and child’s 20-pound Tibetan Spaniel Mix began to bark loudly. The suspect then kicked the little dog and it flew three feet into the air. The suspect then walked away in an easterly direction. The officers were able to find this man just two blocks away from the incident and after the woman had positively identified this man the officers arrested him and he was charged with robbery, kidnapping and animal cruelty. Bail for this 26-year-old homeless man was set at $100,000.
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.
