By Daily Press staff
The lord giveth, and the lord taketh away.
Well, not exactly. But a homeless woman tried to taketh away from a local church.
A homeless woman was caught red handed on Monday morning stealing the donations in a candle offering box at St. Monica’s Church, located at Seventh Street and California Avenue.
When a church employee saw Linda Marie Thomas, 43, allegedly dipping into the box shortly before 9 a.m., he called Santa Monica police. When officers arrived, they saw Thomas reaching inside the slot with a long wooden matchstick to try to pry money out, said SMPD Lt. Frank Fabrega. It’s unknown if she was successful in getting any cash.
Officers searched her and found several bottles of prescription medication with different names on the bottles. When Thomas was first interviewed by police, she gave them a fake name, Fabrega said. She was taken to Santa Monica Jail and booked for burglary, being in possession of another person’s prescription, giving false information to a police officer and a probation violation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.