Crime Watch: No rest at the Rest Haven
Crime Watch is a weekly series culled from reports provided by the Santa Monica Police Department. These are arrests only. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Saturday, Jan. 5, at 4:20 p.m.,
Santa Monica police officers responded to the 800 block of Grant Street — Rest Haven Motel — regarding a report of a guest failing to pay his bill. When officers arrived they spoke with a motel employee who said the suspect also had a woman in his room and the employee was concerned for her safety. Officers knocked on the motel door and the suspect answered. He allowed police to check inside his room to see if there was a woman in there. While no woman was seen, police said they found in plain sight a glass pipe commonly used to smoke crack cocaine. Officers asked the suspect if he had any cocaine on him and he allegedly said yes. Officers recovered a baggy containing rock cocaine from the suspect’s pants pocket. He was placed under arrest for possession of narcotics. He was identified as Steven Barnes, 56, of Venice, Calif. His bail was set at $10,000.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, at 2:20 a.m.,
Police officers responded to the intersection of 20th Street and Wilshire Boulevard regarding a report of a fight in progress. When officers arrived they saw LAPD officers detaining four people. The LAPD officers told Santa Monica police that they were flagged down by several people regarding a fight. Witnesses said that three men were seen beating a man until he fell to the ground. Once on the ground the suspects continued to kick and punch the victim in the head and neck. Only one suspect was positively identified and placed under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. He was identified as Saleem Allahi, 34, of Tupelo, Miss. His bail was set at $30,000.
Thursday, Jan. 3, at 9 a.m.,
Officers responded to a home on the 2200 block of 26th Street regarding a report of a family disturbance. When officers arrived they made contact and detained the suspect, who is a granddaughter of the alleged victim. The grandmother told police that she allowed her granddaughter to stay at her home over the holidays because she had recently been kicked out of her mother’s house and was no longer with the father of her child. On the night of Jan. 2, the granddaughter allegedly became enraged and started breaking things around the house, including a laptop computer. She also threatened to hurt her grandmother after she told the woman to leave. The suspect did, but returned the next day and allegedly demanded money. When the grandmother refused, the suspect assaulted her on the front porch, police said. She also broke several flower pots and tried to break the front window, police said. When police arrived they said the suspect tried to hit them as they tried to detain her. She was placed under arrest for elder abuse, making criminal threats, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. She was identified as Dionna Anderson, 26, of Santa Monica. Her bail was set at $50,000.
Saturday, Jan. 5, at 3:24 p.m.,
Officers responded to the corner of Euclid Street and Pico Boulevard regarding a report of domestic violence. When officers arrived they made contact with a man who said that as he was parking his car on the 1900 block of Euclid he heard a man and a woman arguing. The witness said he saw the man push the woman into some bushes and then slapped her in the face twice. The woman got up and both continued walking. Officers located the couple a few blocks away and detained them. During their conversation with the couple, officers learned the two were dating and the woman had redness to her face, as if she was slapped. Based on that, police placed the man under arrest for domestic battery. He was identified as Rocco Ochinero, 63, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $20,000.
Editor-in-Chief Kevin Herrera contributed to this report.
