At 4:25 a.m., Santa Monica police responded to a call regarding two theft suspects on the premises of a local hotel located in the 1400 block of Ocean Avenue. When officers arrived, the two suspects were attempting to leave the hotel in their vehicle. As they fled, Kirkpatrick allegedly attempted to run over the officers with his vehicle. The officers were able to move from the path of the fleeing vehicle and were not injured. After the suspects fled, their vehicle struck the curb at Ocean Avenue and Arizona Avenue. The airbag deployed, and the suspects fled from the disabled vehicle. A witness saw the suspects running in the 1300 block of Court 1 and called police. A perimeter was established, and, with the assistance of police dog “Duke”, the two suspects were located hiding in the area. Stolen property and narcotics were recovered from the suspects’ vehicle.
The witness positively identified the two suspects, and they were arrested and later transported to the Santa Monica Jail. Preliminary investigation revealed that the two suspects were involved in the theft of property from other residents of the hotel.
Anyone having additional information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Santa Monica Police Department at (310) 458-8491. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may also call the We-Tip national hotline at (800) 78-CRIME (27463). Also over the holiday weekend, the California Highway Patrol responded to a fatal collision on eastbound Interstate 10, west of 17th Street. At 11:28 p.m. on Jan. 31, a Toyota Tundra struck and killed a pedestrian, who was standing in the third lane of the freeway for an unknown reason.
According to the highway patrol report, the driver of the Toyota unsuccessfully tried to avoid hitting the pedestrian. The driver was uninjured, and no arrests were made. Both the driver and the pedestrian are from Los Angeles.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2005. Read the original PDF.