By Tim Broughton
The Rifleman.
On Monday, April 2, at 9:17 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department received a call informing them that a man, possibly armed with a rifle, was outside the Bristol Farms store, located at 3105 Wilshire Boulevard. The officers rushed to the location and spotted the suspect seated on a bus bench near the store. The officers carefully approached this man and detained him. The officers immediately noticed the barrel of a rifle sticking out of a bag that the man had with him. The officers chatted with this man in order to gain some information about him but the man was evasive and it was soon evident that the man was providing false information about himself to the officers. The officers recovered the rifle, which turned out to be an air rifle with a scope attached to it, as well a stun gun and some pepper gel. The officers also discovered that this suspect was on probation for a weapons violation. The officers arrested this 66-year-old San Diego resident and he was later charged with providing false information, being a felon in possession of tear gas, being a felon in possession of a stun gun and a violation of probation. Bail was not granted.
Eye Sore.
On Friday, April 6, at 11:51 p.m. officers who were on patrol in the area of the 100 block of Broadway saw two men fighting each other outside the Ma’Kai Restaurant, located at 101 Broadway. The officers radio’d for back-up and additional officers arrived whereupon the police separated the two men. The officers began investigating and discovered that one of the men was a security guard at the restaurant. The officers learned that the other man had been inside the restaurant and had been acting in a strange manner. The security guard had walked over to the man to check on him and the man then became unreasonable and aggressive with the security guard, so the security guard and another employee decided to escort the man from the premises. Once they arrived outside the restaurant the man became angry and the attacked the security guard, punching him in his right eye before attempting to gouge the eye out of the security guard’s head with his fingers. While the suspect was being detained by the officers he also threatened to harm all of the police at the scene. The officers began to handcuff the suspect but he attempted to run away but the officers were ready for this and he was quickly grabbed and put into handcuffs and taken off to jail. This 28-year-old Santa Fe Springs, California resident was later charged with assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem and forcibly resisting arrest. Bail was set at $100,000.
Mobilized.
On Friday, April 6, at 8:45 p.m. officers were on a routine patrol in the area of the 700 block of Santa Monica Boulevard when they saw a man riding a bicycle whilst yelling obscenities at passing vehicles. The officers noticed that this man fit the description of a person who was wanted for an earlier robbery that had taken place on Palisades Park. The officers then watched as this man entered the Mobil Gas Station, located at 731 Santa Monica Boulevard and after a few moments exited carrying numerous items. The officers detailed the man and spoke with the female store clerk who said that the man had taken the items from the shelves and when she tried to stop him from leaving he had threatened to punch her. The officers arrested this 40-year-old homeless man and he was later charged with robbery and a violation of probation. Bail was set at $50,000.
High Bail.
On Friday, April 6, at 5 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department who were on patrol in the 100 block of California Avenue spotted a man riding a bicycle on the sidewalk in violation of a Santa Monica Municipal Code. The officers stopped this man and performed a records check that revealed that he had three outstanding warrants for robbery and being drunk in public. The officers took the man into custody and performed a search on the individual that revealed that he was in possession of a narcotics pipe. The officers arrested this 39-year-old homeless man and he was later charged with riding a bicycle on the sidewalk and possession of narcotics paraphernalia. Bail was set at $105,500.
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.
