By Tim Broughton
Mirror Contributor
A Hoe.
On Monday, January 16, at 11:27 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to investigate a report of an assault that had happened in the 1200 block of Palisades Park. When the officers arrived at the scene they were accompanied by Santa Monica Fire Department paramedics who, upon seeing the significant injuries of the victim, immediately administered life-saving first aid. The victim was then transported with great urgency to a local hospital for further treatment and at the time of going to press was reported to be still at the hospital in a stable condition. The officers remained at the scene and started to interview witnesses who pointed to a possible suspect who was at that time situated a short distance away. The officers immediately detained this individual and began investigating further. The officers were able to retrieve a suspected weapon in this case and this was identified as being a full-length garden hoe. It was lying on the ground near the scene. The officers determined that the victim and the suspect were not known to each other prior to the attack and at the time of the initial investigation the officers were unable to apply any kind of motive to the assault. The officers did discover that the suspect struck the victim several times with the hoe and that the victim made efforts to defend himself. The officers arrested the suspect, a female Hispanic, aged 32 and from Ontario and due to the nature of the attack she was later charged by The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for attempted homicide. Bail information was not available at the time this report was compiled.
Burning Desire.
On Thursday, January 19, at 4 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a report of arson that had occurred in the 1400 block of Second Street so they fired up their police cruiser and sped to the location. As the officers were en route they were told that the reporting party had stated that a man had set trash alight in a city-owned trashcan. When the officers arrived at the location they saw that a second City-owned trash can had also been set on fire so they summoned the assistance of the Santa Monica Fire Department who arrived a few minutes later and extinguished the flames. The officers spoke with several witnesses at the scene and these witnesses were able to give the officers a detailed description of the arsonist. The officers went in search of this suspect and discovered him a short distance from the scene of the crime. The officers searched this man and discovered that he was in possession of a cigarette lighter so based upon that and statements by witnesses they arrested this 40-year-old homeless man and he was charged with arson. Bail information was not available at the time of going to press.
Beer Run.
On Friday, January 20, at 12:37 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call from Bill’s Liquor, located at 2202 Lincoln Blvd., in regard to a possible theft. The officers hurried to Bill’s Liquor when they arrived they spoke with the store clerk who told them what had happened. Apparently the suspect had entered the store and selected a large quantity of canned beer but the store clerk, upon noticing that this individual displayed signs of extreme intoxication, decided that it would not be a good idea to sell this man any more beer. The man left the store but returned a few minutes later and selected a 12-pack of beer. Once again the store clerk refused to sell this man the beer but this time the man became very distraught and then ran out of the store with the beer but without paying for it. The officers went in search of this suspect and discovered him in a business a short distance away. This 37-year-old Inglewood resident was arrested and charged with theft of the beer. Bail was set at $500.
Fake Muse.
On Saturday, January 21, at 8:36 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were requested to attend to a possible banknote forgery incident at Bloomingdale’s Department Store, located at 315 Colorado Ave. The officers arrived at the store and detained the suspect who had been previously detained by the store security staff. The officers learned that the female suspect had entered the store and had selected several items of clothing. The suspect had then taken the clothing to the check out counter and had handed the store clerk a $100 bill with which to pay for said clothing. The store clerk looked at this $100 bill, and after some careful rumination had spotted some anomalies with the banknote. The store clerk then called the store security agent over so that she could get a second opinion. The store security agent agreed that this $100 bill was dubious so they detained the suspect and called the police. The police looked at the bill and also agreed that it was likely to be a fake. The officers then searched the woman and found that she possessed a second suspect $100 banknote upon her person. The officers arrested this 56-year-old Glendale woman and she was later charged with forgery and burglary. Bail was set at $5,000.
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
