By Tim Broughton
Bad Timing.
On Tuesday, October 31, at 12:42 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a call informing them that a possible vehicle burglary had just occurred in Parking Structure Number One, located at 1234 Fourth Street. The officers sped to the location and as they were en route were furnished with a description of the suspect. As these officers were approaching the location they spotted a man who fit the description loitering suspiciously in the 1200 block of Alley Number One so they detained this man for questioning. The officers learned that the reporting party had witnessed the suspect rummaging through a vehicle in the parking structure and that the reporting party knew that this car did not belong to the suspect as he (the reporting party) had been talking to the rightful owner about an hour prior. The reporting party said that he had approached the suspect at that time and confronted him at which point the suspect mumbled some incoherent phrases and exited the vehicle. In the meantime the owner of the vehicle had returned to the scene and noticed that his car had been broken into. The suspect was positively identified by the reporting party and so the officers searched this aged 24 and homeless man and discovered that he was in possession of items belonging to the vehicle owner so they arrested him and he was taken off to jail where he was later charged with burglary and possession of stolen items. Bail was set at $20,000.
Nightclub Movie Star.
On Tuesday, October 31, at 4:20 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the Halloween Club, located at 420 Broadway, in order to investigate a report of a theft. When the officers arrived at the club they spoke with the victim, an employee at the club, who said that he had placed his backpack on the counter of the business, walked away for a few moments and upon returning noticed that the backpack was missing. The officers reviewed CCTV footage from the club’s security camera system and spotted a man taking the backpack. The officers immediately recognized the suspect as being an individual with whom they had had previous encounters with and a few minutes later the officers spotted the suspect in the 300 block of Broadway. The officers confronted this individual and he immediately confessed to taking the backpack and then showed the officers where he had stashed the backpack away. All of the victim’s property was returned intact and the officers arrested the suspect, aged 20 and homeless, and he was later charged with theft. Bail was set at $500.
You Can’t Hide From Us.
On Tuesday, October 31, at 4:19 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call informing them that a man had been seen dismantling a bicycle and that the bicycle was possibly stolen. The officers arrived at the scene and spotted the suspect and two bicycles. When the suspect saw the officers he tried to hide behind a car but the officers noticed him and (probably without laughing) immediately told him to get up. The officers detained this individual and discovered that he was at that time on probation for grand theft. The officers then searched this man and discovered that he was in possession of bolt cutters, drill bits, shaved keys, pliers, and narcotics paraphernalia. This 25-year-old homeless man was arrested and charged with possession of burglary tools, possession of narcotics paraphernalia and misappropriation of lost property. Bail was set at $500.
Speedwalking.
On Thursday, November 2, at approximately 8:30 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department, who were on a routine patrol in the area of the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue spotted two individuals walking in an haphazard fashion in the middle of Ocean Avenue. The officers approached the individuals in order to discuss the infraction with them and as the officers approached they noticed that one of the men reached into one of his pant packets in an attempt to remove an item surreptitiously. The officers contacted the individuals prior to this man completing the maneuver and the officers took both men to the side of the road where the suspicious acting individual was searched. The officers discovered that this man was in possession of a device used for the inhalation of smoke from burned crack cocaine, or a crack pipe (other names for such a device are pookie, obamapipe, bowl, crystal ship, duwaka, pistol, rick james etc.). The officers arrested this 27-year old homeless man for possession of drug paraphernalia and he was later released after being issued a citation. The other individual, aged 22 and also homeless was not carrying any forms of identification and was also arrested until he could be identified whereupon he was issued with a jaywalking ticket.
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.
