By B y D a i l y P r e s s s t a f f By Daily Press Staff
On Thursday, March 9, at 7:15 p.m., undercover detectives with the Santa Monica Police Department conducted an investigation into allegations of prostitution at a message parlor on Pico Boulevard, near Ninth Street. Complaints were made to the police department about prostitution at the business, prompting the investigation. An undercover officer entered the parlor and requested a massage and paid. While receiving the message, the officer was asked if he wanted to have sex for a fee, at which time a predetermined signal was made and officers entered the business and the suspect, a masseuse, was arrested and booked for prostitution. The suspect was identified as Su Cha Duskin, 43, of Redondo Beach. Her bail was set at $2,000.
On Monday, March 6, at 8:15 a.m., Santa Monica Police responded to the 2200 block of Montana Avenue after receiving a call about a burglary in the area. When officers arrived, they spoke with a witness who said they saw a suspect enter a locked garage and drink from a refrigerator inside. The suspect then ran off. Officers located the suspect in the 2200 block of Montana, and after witness verification, he was arrested and booked for burglary and a probation violation. The suspect was identified as Donald Jake Sellers, 32, a transient. No bail was set.
On Tuesday, March 7, at 11:37 p.m., an officer was patrolling in the 1800 block of Delaware Avenue when he saw a green Honda Accord matching the description of a car involved in a traffic accident at Fourth Street and Pico Boulevard earlier that evening. When officers approached the vehicle, they saw an Asian man sitting on the sidewalk, looking disoriented. Smelling what they believed to be alcohol on his breath, officers conducted a field sobriety test and formed the opinion that the subject was under the influence. He was placed under arrest, transported to a local hospital for a blood test, and then booked for felony DUI and felony hit-and-run because the driver in the vehicle he allegedly struck suffered injuries. The man was identified as Minh Trinh, 21 of Ontario. His bail was set at $100,000.
On Saturday, March 11, at 1:34 a.m., Santa Monica Police responded to the 400 block of Raymond Avenue after receiving a call about a brawl involving several people. When officers arrived, they contacted witnesses, who pointed out a suspect whom they said had cut two others with a knife during the fight. Officers arrested the man and searched the area for victims. Officers followed a trail of blood, but could not find anyone injured. Local hospitals were notified, but no one with wounds matching a knife attack were reported. The suspect with the knife, identified as Niculin Roman Gross, 21, of Los Angeles, was transported to jail and booked for assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $30,000.
On Tuesday, March 7, at 12:22 p.m., Santa Monica Police responded to the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Strand Street after receiving a call about an assault. Upon arriving, they found three individuals who said that while they were walking, a Latino man drove by and shouted racial slurs targeting African Americans and challenged the three to a fight. The men, who are African American, said they continued to walk, but were confronted by the driver, who had gotten out of his car and began to fight with two of the men. During the fight, the three black men said the suspect produced a knife and tried to stab one of them, then fled. The man who was hit suffered a five-inch abrasion on his forehead. Police were able to locate the alleged attacker, identified as Roberto Omar Gonzalez, 22, of Santa Monica. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, with bail set at $30,000.
On Wednedsay, March 8, at 7:25 p.m., a Santa Monica Police officer in the 2200 block of Santa Monica Boulevard saw a man riding his bike on the sidewalk, a violation of the municipal code. During the investigation, the officer recovered a pipe used to smoke narcotics, as well a small baggy containing a white, crystallized substance, later determined to be methamphetamines. The subject was arrested and taken to jail, where he was booked for possession of a controlled substance. The suspect, identified as John Andrew Cox, 31, a transient, was also held on an outstanding warrant and a probation violation. No bail was set.
On Sunday, March 12, at 11:55 a.m., Santa Monica Police officers responded to the 100 block of Broadway regarding a theft investigation. When officers arrived, they interviewed and employee who said the suspect entered the shoe store and grabbed two boxes of shoes and walked out without paying for the items. The suspect was arrested outside the store and the shoes, valued at $180, were recovered. He was booked for petty theft with a prior as well as violation of his parole. He was identified as Erin David Pearson, 39, a transient. No bail was set.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 17, 2006. Read the original PDF.