Crime & Safety

Santa Monica Police Blotter: Narcotics, Shoplifting and Domestic Violence

Narcotics

On Nov. 3 at approximately 2:14 a.m., officers on routine patrol observed a 22 year-old Hispanic man standing beside a car in the 100 block of Bay Street. The officers stopped their car to talk to the gentleman, asking him if he had a car in the area. The man pointed to a car and said that he came in that one. One of the officers conducted a DMV registration check of the license plate and determined who the owner was. The officer then asked the man who the owner of the vehicle was. When the man replied, the two names did not match up. The officers noticed that as they were talking to the man, he was exhibiting signs of being under the influence of a central nervous stimulant. They asked the man if he was high and he replied, “Maybe a little bit.”

When asked the last time he was high he responded by telling the officers that he smoked “wax” a few hours earlier and had a “bump.” “Wax” is slang for concentrated marijuana and a “bump” is slang for methamphetamine. The officers developed probable cause to arrest the man for being under the influence of drugs and transported him to jail. At the jail they found a rolled up $1 bill with a white powdery residue inside that later tested positive to be .09 grams of amphetamine.

Shoplifting

On Nov. 1 at approximately 2 p.m. loss prevention agents for Sears, 302 Colorado Ave., watched as an 18-year-old white male suspect stuffed a sports jacket belonging to Sears down the front of his pants in an attempt to conceal it. The suspect then left the store without paying for the jacket. When stopped by the loss prevention agent just outside of the store, the suspect shoved the agent and ran away. He ran toward an adjacent wall, pulled the jacket out of his pants and threw the jacket and a backpack he was carrying over the wall. He attempted to scale the wall but could not. The suspect ran south on Ocean Avenue into Tongva Park. Responding officers apprehended the suspect in the park and were able to retrieve the jacket and backpack. Sears valued the jacket at $180.

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Domestic Violence

On Oct. 31 at approximately 4:36 p.m. officers responded to a residence in the 2400 block of Virgina Avenue regarding a family disturbance. The officers met a woman who was distraught and told them that her boyfriend had taken $200 from her purse inside her apartment and went to the store. The woman told officers that her boyfriend had a history of assaulting her and on Oct. 29 they argued and her boyfriend accused her of cheating on him. He then told her that he was going to kill her and held up a cylindrical, silver, metal speaker in a threatening manner at her.

The woman told police officers that she feared for her safety so she pushed her boyfriend away from her and in doing so, scratched her boyfriend in the face. The boyfriend then took the money from her purse and went to the store. When he returned, the police were there to question him. During their investigation they were able to determine probable cause to arrest the boyfriend for robbery, criminal threats, and domestic violence. The woman was given an Emergency Protective Order against her boyfriend by police.

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Assault & battery

On Oct. 31 at approximately 7:09 p.m. officers responded to the area of Lincoln and Pico boulevards regarding a subject throwing trash and trash can lids into the street. While on the way to that call, officers were diverted to the area of Lincoln Boulevard and Grant Street regarding someone striking another person with a motorcycle helmet. When officers arrived it appeared that numerous people were encircled around the subject in an attempt to corral him. Witnesses pointed the subject out to the police and as soon as they did, the subject started walking toward the officer with a clenched fist, an aggressive stance and his eyes fixated and staring at the officer. The officer also noticed that the subject matched the description of the one at Lincoln and Pico boulevards. The officer ordered the subject to get back, to which the subject ignored. The officer physically took control of the subject and placed him in handcuffs.

A witness approached the police officer and told him that the suspect dumped a load of trash on top of his motorcycle, parked nearby. An argument ensued and the suspect charged the victim. To protect himself, the victim held up his motorcycle helmet and the suspect punched the helmet damaging the windscreen. The victim sustained an injury to his left ring finger and his pinky. The suspect was arrested for assault, battery, vandalism and public intoxication.

Shoplifting

On Oct. 30 at approximately 4:42 p.m. officers responded to the Nordstrom department store in Santa Monica Place regarding a 24-year-old black male suspect in custody for theft. The loss prevention agent told police that he followed the suspect around the store as the suspect picked up items of clothing and a ring and entered and exited dressing rooms with the items. At one point he picked up an L.A. Kings baseball cap and put it on his head. The suspect also had a Nordstrom shopping bag with him. After walking around the store, loss prevention agents saw him walk out of the store without paying for the hat. When he was stopped, he told the police officer that he forgot about the hat being on his head. A check of his bag revealed that he had put clothes items in the bag that he got from the store and did not pay for. When asked about those items he tried to tell the police officer that he was diabetic, was possibly having a seizure at the time that the items were placed in the bag, and did not remember placing them there. By this time the officer had already taken the suspect to the hospital and had him cleared of any medical issues, including diabetes. When the officer told the suspect that he knew he was not diabetic, the suspect admitted to the theft.


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