On Saturday, Feb. 19, at 2:26 p.m., officers went to the 1200 block of 23rd Street in response to a burglary. When the officers arrived at the scene they spoke with the victim, and he explained what had occurred.
Apparently, the victim had been inside his residence when he heard his dog barking. He had remembered that he had left his door slightly ajar in order to allow his dog access to the front yard. He had then descended his stairs and noticed that the door was closed more than the amount that he had left it, and also noticed that a pair of shoes that he had placed just inside the door was missing.
He exited through the door in question, and then observed his front gate closing, and a man was standing there holding the pair of shoes in his hands, looking at them. The victim sized up the situation and decided to confront the suspected shoe thief. The suspect told the victim that his own shoes were “shot,” and that he was sorry, but would have to take the victim’s shoes. At that point it appeared that the “shoe dropped” for the suspect, and he dropped the shoes and fled the scene, just as the victim began to call the police. Officers located the suspect a short distance away, and arrested this 33-year-old of Venice, for burglary. His bail was set at $50,000.
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.
