Alert: Police Blotter:

No Free Lunch?Monday, March 16, 12:16 p.m. Officers of The Santa Monica Police Department traveled to Le Merigot Hotel, located at the 1600 block of Ocean Avenue. Hotel staff informed officers that they had discovered a “lunch bag” that a guest had accidentally left in the parking valet area. The bag in question did not contain any foodstuffs however, as its contents were made up of a number of credit and identification cards, all in a variety of different names. The officers questioned the male guest and formed the opinion that his intent with these cards was of a fraudulent nature. In addition, the guest also possessed a pipe designed for the smoking of crystal meth. He was arrested and booked for grand theft of access cards, illegal possession of valid access cards, making a counterfeit access card, and possession of drug paraphernalia.A Very Late Lunch?Tuesday March 17, 4:52 a.m. Izzy’s Deli is a well known 24-hour restaurant located at the 1400 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Officers attended the deli on the above date, not to dine, but because an eagle-eyed cashier had spotted a counterfeit $100 bill that a customer had used in order to pay her dining bill of $19.71. Officers spoke with the woman in question, and decided that this was no innocent mistake. They concluded that she was deliberately attempting to pass a fake banknote. The woman was arrested and booked for passing a counterfeit bill and commercial burglary. The Secret Service was subsequently informed.Late for Lunch?Tuesday March 17, 3:07 p.m. Officers received a report that a man had attacked a Big Blue Bus at 17th Street and Pico Boulevard. The bus driver had told the officers that a man had not accepted the fact that the bus driver would not allow the man to mount the bus whilst it was stopped at a red light, and not at an approved bus stop (rules are rules). The driver also reported that this was no ordinary Big Blue Bus, but a “Rapid” bus. These buses make fewer stops in order to speed up the journey for whoever is fortunate enough to have boarded the bus. The man expressed his displeasure by kicking the bus door causing the glass to break. The man got onto another bus (possibly not a “Rapid” bus?) and was detained a few blocks away. He was later booked for vandalism.Liquid Lunch?Thursday, March 19, 2:48 p.m. Officers attended the Rite-Aid store at the 2400 block of Pico Boulevard to the report of a theft. According to a store employee, a woman had taken three tall cans and one bottle of beer, put them into her bag and exited the store without paying. A Rite-Aid loss prevention agent detained the woman, and when the officers arrived they removed the beer from the bag, and the Rite-Aid agent placed her under citizen’s arrest. She was later booked for petty theft and three other outstanding warrants. The beer was valued at $8.46 cents, incidentally.