On Friday, Jan. 20, at 12:35 p.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on patrol in the 2000 block of Lincoln Boulevard when they noticed that three subjects were standing directly in front of the entrance to the Jack in the Box restaurant.
Nothing wrong with that, you may conclude, but these people were smoking!
This is a flagrant violation of the Santa Monica Municipal Code that prohibits anyone from performing this act within 20 feet of a public entrance. The officers investigated further, and one of these individuals admitted to being a gang member, and also that he was carrying a knife.
The officers obtained the consent of this individual to search his person and did. What they found was not just a simple knife, but a six-inch double-edged dagger that was hidden under his clothes.
The officers also found a tool that was of the kind that is often found upon people who are committing burglaries.
The officers also discovered that this man had a warrant out for his arrest (he had been in trouble before?), so they arrested him.
This homeless, 40-year-old gang member was charged with carrying a concealed dagger, possession of burglary tools, being under the influence, violation of probation, and a bench warrant. His bail was set at $30,000.
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.
