On Friday, Feb. 4, at 9:07 a.m. officers were called to the food court at the Third Street Promenade, located on the1300 block of Third Street, in response to a report of a man trying to grab food from diners in the food court.
When the officers arrived the grabber had left the scene, but at 9:53 a.m. the officers were informed that the grabber had returned. As the officers were arriving for the second time a witness pointed in the direction of a bathroom in the parking structure. The officers went to the bathroom and spotted the grabber. The grabber was agitated, and would not follow the instructions of the officers. The officers grabbed the grabber, and tried to handcuff him, but he struggled. However the officers applied a firmer grip and prevailed.
As the officers took the suspect into custody, a subject approached and informed them that the suspect had just assaulted him. He stated that as he was walking into the bathroom, the suspect had punched him in the shoulder with his fist. The victim’s “call of nature” was of greater importance at that moment, so the victim proceeded with his business in the bathroom, and did not confront the assailant.
Officers thus arrested the suspect, a 49-year-old of Culver City, and charged him with assault, battery, and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $20,000.
Editor’s Note: This report is part of 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 the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com.