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, June 23, at 10:45 p.m.,
Santa Monica police officers responded to the 1200 block of Georgina Avenue regarding several teens allegedly driving recklessly and loitering in the street. When officers arrived, they found roughly 250 to 300 teenagers going in and out of a home. Seeing several alcoholic beverages in the street and driveway of the home, officers entered the backyard of the home to find an adult. When kids saw the cops, some of them started jumping over fences into neighboring yards in an attempt to flee. Officers could not find any adults and entered the home. There they found about 50 teens hiding. During their investigation, officers learned that a teen who lived at the house threw a party complete with security and a cover charge. Officers found the teen as he walked back to the home. He allegedly told officers that his father was out of town and that he had thrown several parties while his dad was away. A few days earlier cops responded to the same home and forced roughly 300 to leave without incident. The suspect was taken to Santa Monica Jail and booked for contributing to the delinquency of minors and operating a business without a proper license. The suspect was identified as C.S., 19, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $5,000.
Saturday, June 23, at 8:05 a.m.,
Officers were on foot patrol along the Third Street Promenade when they received a report about a robbery that just occurred at the Pinkberry yogurt shop. An employee pointed to the suspect, who was running east into an alley with a tip jar in hand. Officers chased the suspect on foot and he was caught at the corner of Fourth Street and Broadway. The suspect was positively identified and placed under arrest for burglary and violation of probation. The suspect had prior convictions for burglary and robbery, police said. He was identified as James Johnson, 22, of Hawthorne, Calif. No bail was set.
Friday, June 22, at 10:26 a.m.,
Officers responded to the beach restrooms located on the 2800 block of Ocean Front Walk on the report of a man using a squirt gun to shoot water on people as they walked by. Further, he had a medium-sized dog under his control that was acting vicious and attempting to bite people, police said. When officers arrived, they tried to speak with the suspect, but he locked himself and his dog inside a bathroom stall. When ordered to exit, the suspect used the squirt gun to shoot water onto the officers. Cops got a key and opened the stall door. At that point, the suspect became combative and slammed the stall door shut on an officer’s arm and ordered his dog to attack them, police said. During the struggle, police said the dog attacked the suspect instead and bit him several times. Officers tried to use a Taser to subdue the animal, but that failed. As officers were trying to gain control of the dog, the suspect allegedly bit the animal on the leg, causing it to cry out in pain. A K9 officer and Animal Control officer arrived and were able to take the dog out of the restroom while officers placed the suspect under arrest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment for exposure to pepper spray and wounds suffered from being tased and bitten. He was eventually booked for resisting arrest, cruelty to animals, battery on a police officer and for being a fugitive from Pima County, Ariz. He was identified as Austin Mills-Grant, 20, a transient. No bail was set.
Friday, June 22, at 4:24 p.m.,
Officers were on patrol along the 200 block of Colorado Avenue when they were flagged down by a man who wanted to report his vehicle being vandalized by a woman. He told officers that he was stopped at a traffic light at Colorado Avenue and Fourth Street when all of a sudden a woman walked up to his window and began hitting it, yelling for the driver and his female passenger to get out of the car. The suspect then allegedly walked to the front of the vehicle where she then pounded on the hood, causing a large dent. The suspect then walked west on Colorado after police were called. The suspect was detained about a block away from the incident after she had boarded a bus. The suspect was positively identified by the owner of the vehicle and placed under arrest for vandalism. She was identified as Melinda Middlebrook, 24, of Santa Monica. Her bail was set at $500.
Thursday, June 21, at 6:13 p.m.,
Officers were on foot patrol along the Third Street Promenade when they noticed a man who had his face covered with bandanas with only his eyes showing. Officers said the suspect appeared agitated as he paced back and forth. Some passersby approached the officers and told them they feared the man was going to assault or rob someone. As one officer started to walk toward the man, he allegedly pulled out an 18-inch long metal stake with a sharpened tip and began yelling unintelligibly at the officer. The officer ordered the suspect at gunpoint to put the weapon down. The suspect refused until the second officer arrived. The suspect then put down the weapon and was taken into custody without incident. The suspect was booked for exhibiting a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed dirk or dagger and resisting arrest. He was identified as Jonathan Bailey, 28, of Santa Monica.
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Editor-in-Chief Kevin Herrera compiled these reports.
