The Man Was Arrested for Burglary, Indecent Exposure and Attempt to Commit Rape
By Zach Armstrong
A homeless man has been arrested after breaking into a Santa Monica woman’s residence and masturbating next to her bed as she slept.
Anthony Romero, 28, entered the residence in the 2400 block of 2nd street around 2:10 a.m. on Feb. 29. When the victim woke up, Romero was next to her bed pleasuring himself and touching her face. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived.
Responding officers shared security footage with detectives. Within hours, Romero was identified as the suspect.
The next day, A Watch officers located Romero walking on Santa Monica Boulevard. He was taken into custody with the help of an UAS/Drone and an assisting K9 officer who contacted the suspect.
Romero was booked for Burglary, Indecent Exposure, Attempt to Commit Rape and a Parole Hold (out of San Bernardino County).
Anyone with information related to the individual or incident is asked to contact Detective McCoy at James.McCoy@santamonica.gov, Detective Sergeant Goodwin at Chad.Goodwin@santamonica.gov, or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458- 8427.
