This Was Not a Game Of Monopoly?
On Thursday, March 10, at 2pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to attend to an incident at the Oceana Beach Club Hotel (a hotel that is described on its website as a 70-room boutique retreat awash in cheerfully vibrant colors and organic textural elements that suggests beautifully decorated family beach house staffed by fellow beach-lovers whose only goal is your complete satisfaction). When the officers arrived at this luxurious establishment they met with the general manager who told the officers that a resident at the hotel had been engaged in threatening behavior towards other guests and had been generally making a nuisance of himself. The general manager was desirous that the man leave the premises and to cease being a guest at the hotel. The general manager had conveyed these thoughts verbally towards this man but to no avail, hence the call to the Santa Monica Police Department. The officers agreed to assist and went to the room in which this portentous sojourner was residence at that time. The officers knocked on the door several times whilst verbally identifying themselves as police officers but there was no response. The officers continued this approach and after several minutes they spotted the man peeping out of a glass window from the suite. The man announced to the officers that he had no intention of leaving the hotel. The officers then utilized a master key that the general manager had given them and entered the suite and as they did so the man slinked into a rear bedroom of the suite and closed two large doors behind him. The officers attempted to reason with this man from behind these doors but the man reiterated that he was intent upon staying at the hotel, claiming that he was in fact the owner of the hotel. The officers, by this time convinced that this man may be somewhat deranged, decided to try a ruse upon the man and told him that they had had enough and were leaving the hotel. The officers hid around a corner and after a few minutes the man exited the room and the officers pounced and arrested the man and took him off to jail. This man was later charged with resisting arrest and intentionally interfering with a business establishment. Bail for this 51-year-old Santa Monica resident was set at $10,000.
Something Fishy.
On Thursday, March 10, at 3:45am officers of the Santa Monica Police Department who were on routine patrol in the area of the 400 block of Wilshire Blvd. suddenly came upon a huge makeshift marquee constructed from tatty old blankets that had been erected in front of the entrance of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos restaurant, located at 418 Wilshire Blvd.. The officers brought their police cruiser to a halt and went to speak with the resident of this non-permitted spontaneous structure. The officers recognized the individual as being a person who had a history of constructing such erections in order to create a comfortable place to sleep. The officers searched this man and discovered that he had, amongst other items, lighter fluid. On past occasions this man had used lighter fluid as a method of starting fires in order to burn various materials. The officers arrested this 46-year-old homeless man and requested a stay away court order that also included an order that he not be allowed to start any bonfires within Santa Monica City Downtown or main Street areas. This man was released on bail of $500.
Crashed Out.
On Friday, March 11, at 3pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to a single vehicle traffic collision that had occurred at the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and Princeton Ave. The officers were informed en-route that the driver of the vehicle might be under the influence of alcohol. When the officers arrived at the scene they looked at the vehicle involved and noticed that the collision must have been at a high speed due to the extensive damage that had been caused to the vehicle. The officers then spoke with the female driver and immediately detected the telltale odor of alcohol upon her breath. The officers suggested that this woman accept medical attention because they believed that she may have sustained injury due the extensively damaged vehicle. The woman stated that she did not need medical attention so the officers performed a roadside sobriety test. The woman failed this test. The officers then arrested this 25-year-old Marina del Rey resident and she was charged with driving under the influence. Bail as set at $15,000.
Bladerunner.
On Saturday, March 12, at 5:30pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were on a routine patrol in the area of Euclid St. and Wilshire Blvd. when they noticed a suspicious looking character who was riding his bicycle erratically and against the flow of traffic. The officers immediately performed a traffic stop on the bicyclist and started to talk with the man. The officers asked this man if he was in possession of any dangerous weapons and he confessed to them that he possessed a knife. The officers removed this weapon from this man and the officers determined that the type and size of knife constituted a deadly weapon. This man was bereft of any formal identification but the officers were able to identify this 30-year-old homeless man by the use of police technology. This man was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and 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.
