On Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10:49 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the 1000 block of Maple Street in order to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle. When they arrived at the location the officers spotted a black Hyundai. This Hyundai was sporting Pennsylvania license plates. The officers ran a check of the plates and they came back as ones that belonged to a Ford, and had been reported lost or stolen. The officers took a look inside the vehicle and saw a man asleep in the back seat.
The officers then checked the VIN number of the Hyundai, and discovered that this vehicle had been reported as stolen in Pennsylvania three weeks prior. When the officers asked the suspect about these facts he offered a contrary explanation, claiming that he had bought the car himself, “three weeks ago.” The officers, given the evidence, understandably doubted the validity of this man’s story, so they arrested him. This 34-year-old resident of Los Angeles was charged with grand theft auto, and receiving stolen property (the plates). His bail was set at $35,000.
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.
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