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# Local jewelry store robbed
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-jewelry-store-robbed/
- Published: 2003-04-03T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:00:29.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Promenade, #archive-import

*Landlords take advantage of rent-control exemption*

*By Daily Press staff*

A jewelry store on the Third Street Promenade was robbed by two men on Wednesday, police said.

At about 12:15 p.m., two suspects entered Bracken Jewelers, smashed a display case and fled with an unknown amount of jewelry.

The suspects are described as black men, one in his late teens, 5’9” tall with short hair. The other suspect is in his early 20s with diamond studded earrings in both ears.

The store is located between Broadway and Santa Monica Boulevard. No store representatives were available for comment Wednesday evening. their case, said Rent Control Board Administrator Nary Ann Yurkonis.

If the tenant concedes that the apartment is not his primary residence, the landlord is allowed to raise the rent to market value.

Aperson doesn’t have to live in the apartment for a set amount of time to establish permanent residency. If the board accepts a landlord’s preliminary case, it is up to the tenant to prove that the unit is his “usual residence of return,” according to the law.

“We’re frightened,” said Shores resident Jack Foster, who added most tenants didn’t know about the law until recently. “We found out about this law on a Tuesday and it was voted in on a Wednesday. The bureaucracy slid us under the door so quickly and quietly.”

Foster said many residents of the Shores, who have lived there for decades, wouldn’t be able to afford market rates at the seaside apartment building.

Apartments at the Shores have for years been rent controlled but as they became vacant, the landlord was able charge market rate. As a result, the same-sized unit can go for as low as $641 a month while others rent for more than $3,000.

Douglas Emmett bought the building in 1999 for $93 million, resident Jack Newerth said.

Douglas Emmett could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Shores resident Loretta Steinbach, who has lived there for 30 years and supports the law, said there are rent-controlled apartments on her floor that haven’t been used as permanent homes for years.

“I don’t think it’s right when people have all the money in the world and they come every six months,” she said.

However, some residents said the new law goes too far in snuffing out secondary renters because it infringes on their privacy.

They worry that landlords will be watching their every move, as well as tracking their assets including property they own elsewhere, voting records, tax returns and vehicle records. Residents also worry that the landlord will be able to walk through their apartments to check expiration dates on food items to determine whether they use the apartment as their main residence.

Some residents said they are worried the new law may start an avalanche of anti-renter regulations because it could set a precedent for targeting other groups.

“We’re afraid of what’s next,” Foster said. “This is just a starting point. We’ve heard rumors of a law that would put a cap on income, put a cap on other things... If they put a $30,000 a year cap to qualify for rent control that’s going to hurt a lot of people.”

The two 17-story apartment buildings house 532 one-and two-bedroom units. The lowest rent currently being paid for a one-bedroom is $641 and there are dozens of other one-bedroom apartments in the $600 to $900 range, according to rent control documents. The highest rent currently for a one-bedroom at the Shores is $3,419.

Two-bedroom apartments at the Shores start below $1,000 and go as high as $5,000, according to documents.

Concerns over the law extends throughout the city. There are about 30,000 rent-controlled units in Santa Monica. Between 10 to 15 percent of the units could be effected by the law, officials said.

Yurkonis said the cases will be reviewed by the board on an individual basis.

“The owners don’t give up,” she said, adding the local regulation was passed under pressure that a similar but more “Draconian” statewide measure might go into effect. “As soon as vacancy decontrol was passed in this state, a price went on the head of every sitting tenant.”

> “The owners don’t give up. As soon as vacancy decontrol was passed in this state, a price went on the head of every sitting tenant.” — - MARY ANN YURKONIS Rent Control Board Administrator

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/040303-04_01.jpg)

A Santa Monica Police officer and detective stand outside a jewelry store on Wednesday shortly after it was robbed. (Photo: Ross Furukawa/Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 3, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040303.pdf?ref=smdp.com)