On December 8 at approximately 9:35 a.m.
A Santa Monica Police officer saw the suspect sitting on the ground near the middle of the 1800 block of Alley 8 and began talking to him. When the officer asked the suspect if he was on probation or parole, the suspect admitted to being on probation. The suspect seemed nervous, so the officer also asked him if he had used any drugs. The suspect admitted to using methamphetamine the night before, and then gave the officer permission to search his backpack when he was asked. During the search, the officer found two bindles of methamphetamine hidden in the suspect's wallet. The suspect also had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The suspect was then taken into custody and booked at the Santa Monica jail. Joshua John Ortega, 33, of Santa Monica had bail set at $51,000.
On December 8 approximately 3:15 p.m.
Witnesses saw the suspect looking into and trying the doors handles of cars parked in a parking lot at the 2000 block of Lincoln Blvd. The suspect was also holding a long stick in one hand, and two large knives in his other hand; and confronted some of the witnesses when he saw them looking at him. Officers arrived shortly afterward and found the suspect attempting to hide from them behind a metal power box. The suspect initially did not drop the weapons, but eventually complied and was taken into custody. The suspect was already on probation for homicide, so his probation officer was contacted and subsequently placed a hold on him for violating the conditions of his probation.
The suspects were identified as Frank MacArthur Smith, 53, of Santa Monica. He was held without bail.
On December 11 at about 9:50 p.m.
Santa Monica police officers responded to 3rd Street and Broadway, regarding a fight that had just occurred and resulted in a minor injury. When the officers arrived they found two female suspects, identified as Ebony Herring, 30, of Hollywood and Dahlia Davidson, 32, of Los Angeles; standing near the crosswalk and noticed Davidson had a laceration on her right ear lobe.
During their investigation; the officers learned Davidson and Herring used to live together and had a romantic relationship, but recently ended it after Davidson moved out. Officers also learned Davidson and another man showed up a Herring's job and started harassing her. Herring walked away from Davidson, but Davidson followed her and eventually pulled out a pair of scissors from her purse. Herring managed to get the scissors away from Davidson, and then put her in a headlock. A short fight ensued, during which both parties received minor injuries. Because of that, both Davidson and Herring were arrested for domestic violence. Herring had bail set at $50,000. Davidson had bail set at $50,000.
On December 11 at approximately 3:05 p.m.
Santa Monica Police officers responded to Bloomingdale's, where loss prevention agents were detaining a suspect for theft. The officers learned the store's manager and loss prevention office discovered some odd transaction history occurring since October, 2014. When they looked at the store's security camera footage; they saw one of the sales clerks would void sales receipts for customers who paid with cash, and then remove the cash from the register and place it in her pocket. When the sales clerk was confronted about the thefts, she admitted to taking the cash and promised to pay everything back. The clerk was then taken into custody for embezzlement and booked at the Santa Monica jail. Mi'asheree Lashanna Duck, 21 of Los Angeles had bail set at $20,000.
On December 11 at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Santa Monica Police officers responded to the Nordstrom store at 220 Broadway, regarding a theft that involved two of the store's employees. The officers learned loss prevention agents at the store discovered the suspects were scanning items as sales while at work, and then issuing refunds for the same items and crediting the amounts to their own debit cards as far back as October 2014. After being confronted about the thefts, the suspects admitted what they had done and agreed to pay back the full amount. The suspects were then taken into custody and booked at the Santa Monica jail for embezzlement. The suspects were identified as Marley Ryan Neal, 24, of Inglewood (bail set at $20,000) and Robyn Louise Duggan, 22, of Inglewood (bail set at $20,000).
On December 13, at approximately 10:10 a.m.
A female suspect entered the Britannia Pub at 318 Santa Monica Blvd and ordered a pint of beer. After the bartender served her, the suspect said she did not have to pay for the beer, because the bartender was black and she was white. When the bartended told the suspect she still needed to pay for her drink, the suspect refused and started rambling on about why she did not need to. The bartended then tried to take the glass of beer away before the suspect could drink any of it, but the suspect grabbed the glass and threw it directly at the bartender's face. The bartender was able to block the glass with her arms, but still suffered some minor injuries. The suspect then left the pub on foot and refused to stop for responding police officers, but was eventually taken into custody after walking into Palisades Park. Heather L Cahlander, 31, was charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon and had bail set at set at $30,000.
