Crime Watch is a weekly series 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.
Friday, Nov. 30, at 8:45 p.m.
Acting on a tip, Santa Monica police officers stationed themselves outside a Starbucks located in the 2500 block of Wilshire Boulevard in an attempt to capture a suspect wanted in connection with several robberies of coffee houses in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles. Officers said someone phoned them, saying they saw a man matching the suspect’s description driving around the Starbucks in a car that looked like one used in the previous robberies. Officers waited outside the coffee shop and observed the suspect, who was riding in the front passenger’s seat, get out of the parked car, walk into the shop and approach an employee behind the register. The suspect appeared to order something, but left in a hurry without any coffee. Officers detained the suspect and discovered that he had roughly $200 dollars in his possession. Officers interviewed the employee, who said the suspect told her to give him the money or he would shoot her and anyone else who did not comply. Based on that information, officers arrested the suspect for armed robbery. It turned out, the suspect did not have a gun, but a screwdriver. He was taken to the Santa Monica Jail and booked. The suspect, who had outstanding warrants for robbery totaling $1 million and was on parole for burglary, was identified as Joseph Michael Hamburg, 46, from Los Angeles, police said. No bail was set. The driver of the alleged get-away vehicle drove off before police could apprehend them. The investigation is still ongoing.
Sunday, Nov. 25, at 11:35 p.m.
Officers responded to the intersection of Broadway and Third Street regarding a grand theft investigation. When officers arrived, they spoke with the alleged victim, an employee charged with moving and securing kiosks used by merchants on the promenade. The employee said he was towing the kiosks with an electric cart when three men ran up alongside him, jumped in the cart and drove away. The employee notified police, who saw the cart a few minutes later being driven into the 1550 Lot just north of the Santa Monica Pier. The four kiosks being towed were no longer attached. Officers questioned the driver of the cart, who said that he had just bought it from a man for $12. When asked where the kiosks were, the suspect said he bought the cart without them and didn’t know where they were, police said. The value of the missing carts was estimated at $78,000. The driver of the cart was placed under arrest for receiving stolen property. He was identified as Eric Daniel Rodriguez, 20, a transient. His bail was set at $25,000. At the time the police report was written, the kiosks had not been recovered.
Sunday, Dec. 2, at 1:15 p.m.
Police responded to the 1400 block of Fourth Street — Active clothing store — regarding a commercial burglary that had just occurred. When officers arrived, they spoke with an employee at the store, who said a man walked in and took a pair of blue jeans and wrapped them around his neck like a scarf before walking out without paying for the item. The employee called police and officers detained him a short time later. It turns out that the suspect had committed a similar theft at another store in the Santa Monica Place mall, but the owner did not want to press charges, police said. The suspect was charged with the burglary because he had no money to pay for the jeans. He was identified as Erik James Richardson, 26, a transient. His bail was set at $20,000.
Thursday, Nov. 29, at 9:45 p.m.
Police received a phone call about loud noise coming from a nearby residence. The caller said the noise sounded like someone trying to break into the house. Officers responded and found an abandoned home that was under construction. Officers said suspects had broken into the home in order to steal tools or to find a place to sleep. Officers said the suspects tried to hide from police on the roof of the home behind the chimney. The two suspects were arrested. One was a female juvenile. The other was an adult male. He was identified as Edgar Rodriguez, 20, from Los Angeles. Bail information was not available.
Thursday, Nov. 29, at 8:10 a.m.
A woman driving along Ocean Avenue at Colorado told police that as she was stopped at a traffic light when a man in the car behind her started honking and yelling at her. The suspect then jumped out of his car and started banging on the woman’s car, she said. The victim said she rolled up her windows, leading the man to get back into his car, drive up alongside her and continue shouting. She said the man pulled out a gun, pointed it at her and threatened her. The light then turned green and she sped off to the nearest police station to file a report. She provided officers with a description of the vehicle, plus the license plate number. Officers conducted a follow-up investigation at the car owner’s home. There, they arrested Paul Claud Yonet, 37, from the Pacific Palisades. He was booked for assault with a deadly weapon. His bail was set at $50,000. No weapon was found and officers did not have any indication as to what caused the alleged attack.
Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 11:50 a.m.
A suspect walked into the Vons at 710 Broadway and grabbed a $22 bottle of Jim Beam whiskey, hid it underneath a shirt and walked out without paying for it, police said. He was detained by store employees and arrested by police for burglary. The suspect was identified as Ervin Bernard Scott, 46, a transient. His bail was set at $20,000.
Sunday, Nov. 25, at 8:30 a.m.
Police responded to the 1100 block of Second Street — The Huntley Hotel — regarding a report of two suspects staying there illegally. When officers arrived, they spoke with hotel employees who said the two suspects had checked into the hotel a day earlier using a credit card. When the employees checked the card the next day, they discovered that the two suspects were not authorized to use it. Officers went to the suspects’ room and placed the two under arrest. Officers searched the suspects and found a small amount of what appeared to be methamphetamine. The two were booked for possession and for grand theft. They were identified as Mathew David Conrad, 34, and Cassandra Conway, 24, of Beverly Hills. Both were on probation so no bail was set, police said.
Staff Writer Kevin Herrera compiled these reports.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 7, 2007. Read the original PDF.