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.
Monday, March 5, at 8 a.m.,
Officers responded to an apartment building located on the 2300 block of Sixth Street regarding a report of a residential burglary that occurred. When officers arrived, they spoke with a witness who said that while they were walking around the building they saw a first-floor apartment’s window open. Knowing that no one was at the apartment, the witness went to investigate and saw that the apartment had been ransacked. During the investigation, a forensics specialist was able to lift some fingerprints. Detectives got a hit on the prints and went to Baldwin Park, Calif. on March 7 to arrest the suspect. While there, they took two men into custody and recovered several stolen items. Both suspects were transported to the Santa Monica Jail and booked for burglary. One suspect was identified as Moises Pedroza, Jr., 20, of Baldwin Park, Calif. His bail was set at $50,000. The other was identified as Alejandro Perez, 19, of West Covina, Calif. His bail was set at $80,000. He had an outstanding warrant, police said.
Wednesday, March 7, at 7:37 p.m.,
Officers responded to the 2800 block of Santa Monica Boulevard — Maya restaurant — regarding a woman trespassing. When officers arrived, they made contact with the woman, who told them that she was staying at the location with another friend. Officers gained consent to search the woman and her property and in doing so allegedly located heroin, Xanax, some drug paraphernalia and property connected to two burglaries, one in Santa Monica and another in Van Nuys, Calif. The suspect was placed under arrest for possession of stolen property, burglary tools, controlled substances, and another person’s credit card, as well as for a probation violation. She was identified as Brittini Elizabeth Apicella, 23, of Long Beach, Calif. No bail was set.
Thursday, March 8, at 4:19 p.m.,
Officers responded to the 2300 block of Pico Boulevard regarding a report of vandalism. When officers arrived, they learned that two suspects were seen spray painting graffiti on a sign and then fled in separate directions. Officers detained one suspect, who was later identified by witnesses as one of the men responsible for the graffiti. He was placed under arrest for vandalism and identified by police as Deny Garcia, 19, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $1,000. The second suspect was not located.
Friday, March 9, at 12:47 a.m.,
Officers responded to the 500 block of Bay Street regarding a report of a disturbance. When officers arrived, they made contact with the person who called dispatch. She told police that she was in a relationship with the suspect and had asked him to leave her apartment because she was tired of his drug use. Officers spoke with the suspect and during their conversation allegedly found methamphetamine. Officers placed the suspect under arrest for possession of narcotics. He was identified as Jackie Young, 22, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $10,000.
Friday, March 9, at 9:02 p.m.,
Officers working the Third Street Promenade came across a man who was stumbling as if he was under the influence of alcohol. Officers made contact with the man and recognized him as someone they had arrested a week earlier for being drunk in public. Officers determined that he was drunk again and arrested him. While being booked, officers learned that the suspect was a sex offender who had allegedly failed to register with authorities. He was eventually booked for public intoxication and failing to register as a sex offender. He was identified as Saul Eatmon, 37, a transient. His bail was set at $20,000.
Sunday, March 11, at 4:21 a.m.,
Officers were on routine patrol in the area of Seventh Street near Lincoln Boulevard when they saw a woman riding a bike on the wrong side of the street, a violation. The cyclist then allegedly continued west on Olympic Boulevard and proceeded to ride on the sidewalk, another violation. Officers stopped the suspect to talk with her about the violations. During their conversation, officers obtained the suspect’s permission to search her. They allegedly found a scale commonly used to weigh narcotics. The cyclist admitted that she had illegal drugs inside her backpack. A search of the backpack revealed several baggies of meth, glass pipes and other drug paraphernalia indicating the woman was selling the drugs, police said. She was placed under arrest and booked for possession of drugs for sale, transporting drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was identified as Portia Kelker, 25, of Santa Monica. Her bail was set at $30,000.
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Editor-in-Chief Kevin Herrera compiled these reports.
