On May 25 at approximately 1:35 a.m., Santa Monica police officers were patrolling in the area of the 1700 block of Appian Way when they conducted a license-plate inquiry of a vehicle parked at Pacific Terrace just west of Appian Way.
Through the license-plate inquiry, officers determined the vehicle was reported stolen by the Los Angeles Police Department's Wilshire Division. The vehicle was unoccupied at the time.
At 3:45 a.m., officers noticed a suspect sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Officers approached the suspect and detained him.
The suspect, later identified as Walter Alfredo Salmeron-Torres, 22, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody on a vehicle theft charge. Bail was set at $25,000.
Note: Crime Watch is 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.