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.
Thursday, July 17, at 5:02 p.m.,
Officers responded to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital Emergency Room to meet with the victim of an aggravated assault/possible domestic. The victim told the officers that at about 1200 hours that day she had been sitting under the 17th Street overpass on the 10 Freeway with her boyfriend, the suspect, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. The victim found a picture of actor Sean Penn in a magazine she was reading and told the suspect she met Penn a few months prior when she was panhandling; the victim said Penn gave her a few beers. The suspect became angry and started yelling at the victim, telling her to stop talking about Penn. The suspect appeared to the victim to be very jealous. Without any warning, the suspect started punching the victim in the head multiple times, then grabbing and biting her right pinky finger and left thumb as she tried to shield herself from the blows. The victim waited until the suspect passed out and then went to the emergency room for treatment of her injuries. She declined any assistance from the police department. The suspect, Matthew William Dunakin , 40, of Santa Monica, was located and arrested several days later. He was taken to the Santa Monica Jail and booked for battery on a spouse or significant other. Bail was set at 50,000.
Saturday, July 19 at1:45 a.m.,
Officers responded to a report of a battery that had just occurred in the 300 block of Broadway. Witnesses at the scene flagged down the officers and pointed out the suspect, who had left the scene and was walking eastbound on Broadway. The victim of the battery told officers that the suspect started yelling at him for no reason and then jumped him, hitting the victim six times in the head and face with closed fists. The victim, who suffered minor bruising on the left side of his face, refused medical attention. The suspect, Rodney Gray, 20, of Santa Monica was arrested and booked into the Santa Monica Jail for battery and a warrant. Bail was set at $21,500.
Saturday, July 19
Loss prevention officers at Nordstrom (220 Broadway) noticed a chronic shoplifter perusing the cosmetics and fragrance sections. As the loss prevention officer looked on, the suspect selected a bottle of perfume, carried it to the second floor of the store, and then walked out without trying to pay for the $159 item. When the suspect was detained outside the store, he told the security officers he had been drinking. They placed the man in handcuffs, escorted him to the security office, and waited for police officers to arrive. The thief, Gustavo Gallegos, 54, of Hollywood was transported to the Santa Monica Jail, booked for petty theft, and released with a citation. Bail was set at $1,000.
Saturday, July 19, at 8:50 p.m.,
A patrol officer in the downtown area observed a male suspect looking at an unlocked bicycle on the southwest corner of 5th Street and Broadway, acting as though he was going to take it. When the male saw the officer, he quickly walked away westbound on Broadway. The officer stopped the suspect and obtained consent to search him and his backpack. The officer located several items of property that appeared to be stolen, including a Social Security card and debit card in another name, and a new cell phone for which the male did not know the phone number. The officer was able to confirm with the owners of the property that the items had been lost or stolen in the past few days. The suspect, Kyle Kauroma, 32, of Marina del Rey, was arrested for misappropriation of lost property and possession of stolen property and transported to the Santa Monica Jail for booking. Bail was set at $20,000.
Saturday July 19, at 11 p.m.,
Officers responded to a radio call of a fight in the area of Euclid Street and Michigan Avenue. As officers approached the area, they were met by a visibly injured victim. The suspect, who was the victim's adult son, followed her out of their apartment complex and confronted police in the driveway. Once the suspect was in custody, the victim told officers that her son had hit her in the face causing swelling. The victim was attended to at the scene by paramedics, and then transported to the hospital for additional treatment. The suspect, Vidal Assante Oguinn, 31, unknown address, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and violating a protective order. Bail was set at $30,000.
Sunday, July 20 at 6:55 a.m.,
Officers received a call of a robbery that just occurred in the area of 1450 Ocean Ave (the Senior Center). Responding officers located the suspect who was still chasing the victim in the 100 block of Broadway. According to the victim, about twenty minutes before the officers arrived, he was approached by the suspect, who was agitated and appeared intoxicated. The suspect asked the victim if he had seen the suspect's purple backpack. When the victim said no and pointed out that his own backpack was black, the suspect started yelling at him and chased the victim several blocks. Eventually, the victim tired and slowed down to a walk. The suspect pulled the victim's bag from his shoulder, and as the victim walked away emptied the bag of its contents. The suspect then yelled the victim and chased him once again. It wasn't until the suspect and victim heard the approaching sound of police sirens that both stopped running and complied with officers' orders. A witness corroborated the victim's account of the incident; the suspect, John Sentell Shockley, 34, of Shell Beach was arrested for robbery and transported to the Santa Monica Jail. Bail was set at $50,000.
Tuesday, July 22 at 9:40 a.m.,
Officers responded to the 1600 block of Ocean Front Walk after a caller reported a man had just been stabbed by a woman at that location. The officers quickly located the victim, who was belligerent and refused to cooperate with the investigation into his injury, a small puncture wound under his left nipple. The victim also refused medical treatment. A witness to the incident pointed out the suspect, who was sitting on a bench about thirty feet from the victim. The suspect admitted the victim was her boyfriend and that they had been arguing, but would not give the officers any details. Officers located the knife used in the attack and collected it as evidence. The suspect, Cynthia Vallaine Cantrell, 49, of Santa Monica, was arrested for inflicting corporal injury on a significant other, a violation of probation, and four misdemeanor warrants issued by other agencies in the area. Bail was set at $57,071.
Tuesday July 22 at 4:25 p.m.,
Officers responded to a theft investigation at the Rite Aid, 1331 Wilshire Boulevard. According to loss prevention at the store, the suspect had just fled the location and security officers were following him northbound on Euclid Street and then west on California Avenue. The suspect was soon detained by police officers at 10th Street and California Avenue, where they met with store employees. One of the loss prevention officers, working in plainclothes and monitoring the sales floor, reported seeing the suspect take a bottle of liquor from a store shelf and hide it under his sweatshirt. The suspect then walked out of the store without paying for the alcohol. Store employees stopped the suspect on the sidewalk and retrieved the liquor bottle; the suspect appeared to acquiesce to a request to return to the store to wait for police, but broke away and ran from the location. Officers arrested the suspect, David Wells, 64, of Los Angeles, for petty theft and three outstanding misdemeanor warrants. Bail was set at $4,612.
Tuesday July 22, at 9 p.m.
Officers responded to a call of a robbery that just occurred at the Rite Aid, 1331 Wilshire Boulevard. The caller informed dispatchers that initially the suspect was cooperating with employees at the store; however, within a few minutes the suspect started struggling and began to fight with loss prevention officers. The police officers found the suspect and employees in the stock room of the store, with the suspect being detained in the corner. The suspect cooperated with the police and was handcuffed without additional incident. According to a loss prevention officer working in plainclothes and monitoring the sales floor, the suspect was seen taking two bags of chips and a bottle of liquor from store shelves, hiding the merchandise in his backpack, and then walking out of the store without paying. When they attempted to detain the suspect outside of the store, the suspect attempted to punch, scratch and push the employees in an attempt to get his backpack from them and flee. One of the loss prevention officers suffered minor scratches to his forearms, which were photographed. Because the suspect, John Cornelius Sweet, 23, of Los Angeles, used force to try and maintain control of the items he had stolen, he was arrested for attempted robbery (reduced to a misdemeanor) and transported to the Santa Monica Jail for booking. Bail was set at $500.
