By By Daily Press Staff
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.
MONDAY, JUNE 30, AT 3 P.M., Santa Monica police officers responded to Virginia Avenue Park after witnesses said they saw a woman harassing children. When officers arrived they located the children — who ranged in ages from 6 to 12 — and the suspect and placed her under arrest. The children told the officers that the woman was following them around the park, yelling obscenities at them. When the children went to a water faucet to fill up balloons with water, they said the suspect grabbed the balloons from them and began to hit them. The suspect, who is known in the neighborhood for harassing people and business owners, was booked for robbery, willful cruelty to a child, child annoyance and violation of probation. The suspect was identified as Joanna Betty Graves, 34, of Santa Monica. Her bail was set at $50,000.
SUNDAY, JUNE 29, AT 10:05 P.M., Officers working the Santa Monica Pier were flagged down by an employee at Marlene’s Beachcomber clothing shop who said two men walked off with sweatshirts, failing to pay for the items. When the employee confronted the two men, one of them allegedly pushed the employee. Armed with a description of the suspects, officers were able to detain them in the 1300 block of Pacific Coast Highway. A field show up was conducted and the suspects were positively identified by the store employee. The two were booked for strong arm robbery and their bail was set at $50,000 each. The suspects were identified as Darnell Smith, 19, of Riverside, and Eric Leeroy Jones, 19, from Moreno Valley.
MONDAY, JUNE 30, AT 1:06 A.M., An officer on patrol in the 800 block of Pico Boulevard observed a driver run a red light. The officer conducted a traffic stop and noticed the driver was under the influence of a controlled substance. The officer detained the suspect and conducted a search of his property. The officer found the suspect to be in possession of drug paraphernalia. He arrested the suspect for illegal possession of a syringe, being under the influence and running the red light. The suspect was identified as Tyler Everett Jones, 37, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $2,500.
MONDAY, JUNE 30, AT 11:20 P.M., Officers responded to the 1800 block of 10th Street after receiving a call regarding a domestic dispute. When officers arrived they determined that the male and female couple were involved in a verbal and physical altercation in which the male was the aggressor. During the investigation officers discovered the couple was growing marijuana in their apartment. Officers obtained a search warrant and recovered 38 marijuana plants and other cultivating equipment. Officers said the plants ranged in sizes from 8 inches tall to 15 inches tall. The male was booked for cultivating marijuana and for domestic violence. He was identified as Daniel Martin Stefanic, 33, of Santa Monica. His bail was set at $50,000. The female was identified as Gretchen Laurel Crouch, 31, of Santa Monica. She was booked for growing marijuana. Her bail was set at $10,000.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, AT 2:12 A.M., An officer responded to the 2500 block of Kansas Avenue after receiving a report about suspects jumping up and down on a parked car. When officers arrived they observed the suspects and arrested them for felony vandalism and for public intoxication. The first suspect was identified as Kenneth Keith Jones, 18, of Santa Monica, and the second was a juvenile. No bail information was available.
FRIDAY, JULY 4, AT 9:16 P.M., Officers working the bicycle patrol in the 1300 block of the Third Street Promenade saw an unoccupied vehicle illegally parked with the engine running. While officers were examining the vehicle, a man came running up to the car with several bottles of perfume in his arms. Officers detained the suspect and conducted a theft investigation. Officers discovered that the bottles of perfume were stolen from Sephora on the promenade. The suspect was booked for commercial burglary and for violation of his parole. The suspect was identified as Huey Edward Little, 43, a transient. No bail was set.
SUNDAY, JULY 6, AT 1 A.M., An officer on routine patrol at the corner of 11th Street and Pico Boulevard noticed a cyclist riding on the wrong side of the street against traffic, a violation. The officers stopped the cyclist and discovered he was in possession of drug paraphernalia — a glass pipe commonly used to smoke rock cocaine. The suspect was arrested for possession and for violation of his parole. He was identified as Richard Bruce Roberts, 45, of Santa Monica. No bail was set.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 11, 2008. Read the original PDF.