Police Blotter: Drug Possession, Grand Theft and Domestic Violence

Drug Possession

At approximately 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 30, officers were on routine patrol when they observed a bicyclist riding his bicycle on the sidewalk in violation of the city of Santa Monica’s Municipal Code. The cyclist was stopped for the violation by the officers. During the stop, the officers conducted a warrant check of the subject and found that he had a warrant issued for his arrest.  During a search of the subject, the officers found a baggie of drugs under his pants and under a pair of shorts he was wearing underneath the pants. The baggie was taped to his thigh. They recognized the substance inside the baggie to be that of methamphetamine, that later turned out to weighing .20 grams. He was arrested for the warrant and the methamphetamine.

Battery

At approximately 10 a.m. on Jan. 2, officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Sixth Street regarding a battery that had occurred. Officers found that the mother of a 3-year-old child forcibly took custody of the child from the child’s court-ordered guardian. The mother physically assaulted her sister, who had temporary custody of the child at the time, and then fled with the child to an adjacent apartment in the building.

Officers responded and verified the court order. Once the order was verified, they arrested the mother for violation of the court order, assault, and violation of her probation.

Domestic Violence

At approximately 4 a.m. on Jan. 2, officers responded to the 1400 block of Fourth St regarding a domestic violence assault that had occurred there. Officers arrived to find that a boyfriend and girlfriend were working at the same location and that they had gotten into an argument. The victim told police that the argument turned physical when the boyfriend attacked her by grabbing her hair, taking her to the ground, and slapping her. The girlfriend was able to get away and call the police. Police arrested the boyfriend for domestic violence assault.

Grand Theft

At approximately 11:15 p.m. on Jan. 3, officers responded to the 1300 block of Fifth Street in response to a call of a suspicious person there. The victim told responding officers that she was sitting in car, parked on the east curb. She said that she had been there for some time when the subject opened her door and attempted to grab a Louis Vuitton wallet from inside her front passenger seat. She startled him by saying, “What are you doing?” and the subject ran away. The victim valued the wallet at $975 and stated that there was $140 in cash in the wallet.

The victim provided responding officers with a description of the subject and they were able to locate him at Fifth Street and Broadway Avenue. The victim was taken to the location where the subject was being detained and she positively identified the person detained as the one that tried to get her purse.

Burglary

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 4, officers responded to a call of a suspicious person being in the 2500 block of Kansas Avenue. The person in question was seen using a flashlight and trying to open several car doors in the parking lot of the apartment building. After his attempts in the lot, the subject walked out to Kansas Avenue and walked west on Kansas Avenue, where he was seen again, trying to open car doors. Police arrived and detained the subject as they conducted their investigation. They found one car that was unlocked and had looked like it had been ransacked. Based on the observations of two witnesses and the evidence they found at the scene, the subject was arrested for attempted burglary.