A 43-year-old homeless woman was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 12, after stealing towels from a local hotel.
At 3:13 pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out to a hotel located at 1700 Ocean Ave., in order to investigate a report of theft.
Upon arrival at the hotel the officers met with the Spa Manager at the hotel who told them that at about 1:40 pm that day she had been flagged down by patron of the hotel who had told her that a homeless looking person had been stealing towels from the hotel spa.
The Spa Manager located the possible suspect, a woman in her mid to late 40’s.
This person was wearing a blue towel, that bore a remarkable resemblance to the ones that the hotel supplied to guests, around her head, as well as carrying two stacks of towels and a wooden box.
The Spa manager added that when she had confronted the suspect the suspect had dropped the towels and had produced a knife.
She said that at that moment she (the Spa Manager) had backed away and that the suspect had fled from the building via an emergency exit.
She concluded by telling the officers that she had then informed the hotel security staff about what had happened.
The security staff had reviewed surveillance footage from the hotel video security system and had shown the officers the footage.
Later that day, at 7:15 pm, the same officers were on patrol in the area of Ocean Ave. and Pico Blvd. when the spotted this suspect still wearing the distinctive blue towel around her head.
The officers questioned this woman and discovered that she also possessed several other towels that appeared to have been the property of the hotel.
This 43-year-old homeless woman was thus arrested without incident and charged with robbery and a violation of probation. Bail was not granted.
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.
