On June 25 at approximately 12:10 a.m., a Santa Monica patrol officer was driving northbound on 20th Street from Delaware Avenue when he observed two men riding their bicycles on the sidewalk, a code violation.
The officer was able to stop the first man, later identified as Jonathon Chacon, 27, of Los Angeles, while his friend continued riding south.
Chacon consented to a search of the backpack he was carrying. Officers located cable cutters, a spray can and a letter along with a matching permanent-resident card belonging to another unknown person. After a more detailed search of Chacon following his arrest, the officer located a shaved car key, which is commonly used by burglars to unlock doors.
The friend riding the second bicycle, identified as Luis Alexander Romero-Mejia, 21, of Los Angeles, returned to the location where the officer had detained Chacon.
Romero-Mejia advised the officer he was also on probation and gave consent to search his bag. Inside the bag, the officer located various checks and credit cards in other people’s names. The officer noticed that a few of the checks belonged to a local resident. The officer made contact with the resident and discovered that the checks were recently stolen from a mailbox.
A subsequent search of Romero-Mejia's property during the arrest revealed a second shaved key. The suspects later admitted during an interview that the mail was taken from a nearby resident. They were transported to jail.
Chacon was booked for possession of burglary tools and conspiracy and his bail was set at $500. Romero-Mejia, who was booked for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, possession of burglary tools, appropriation of lost property and theft of mail, had bail set at $5,000.
Note: Crime Watch is 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.
