On Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 1:48 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to Sears Department Store, located at 302 Colorado Ave. in response to a suspected thief who was being detained at the store by the loss prevention agents. When the officers arrived, the loss prevention agents told them that the suspect had entered the store and walked over to the jewelry section, whereupon he took a watch from a display cabinet.
The suspect then put the watch inside his jacket pocket and left the store without paying. The suspect was apprehended by the loss prevention agents who escorted him back into the store. Not only did they retrieve the watch, but they also discovered that he had purloined a pair of boots and a wallet. The officers arrested the 52-year-old homeless man and he was charged with burglary. His bail was set at $20,000.
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.