Santa Monica Police Department

Cabbies Push Back Against Uber and Lyft

Stuck in a tightly regulated profession, taxi drivers are chafing at rideshare apps' success

Bicycle Used as Deadly Weapon in Santa Monica?

You probably know that if you hit someone with your car in a fit of anger you could be prosecuted for assault with a deadly weapon and more. But did you know that a bicycle could be a deadly weapon too? The Santa Monica Police Department today announced that an L.A. man, 38-year-old Rocky Martin, w ... More >>

Levy Ernesto Rodriguez Sought in Santa Monica Shooting

Updated at the bottom with gang-tie information. First posted at 3:48 p.m. See also: 1 Dead in Santa Monica Gang Attack Near SMC. Yet another shooting, this one on Sunday, has shaken up a Santa Monica community already saddened by Friday's rampage. Luckily the victim in Sunday afternoon's attack ... More >>

Santa Monica Club Sucker Punch Puts Marine In Hospital; Cops Seek Loser

If you've been around L.A. clubland you know that Zanzibar in Santa Monica is one of the more mellow, musically inclined venues around. You can leave aggro at the door. One guy apparently missed that memo, however, and now Santa Monica cops want talk to him regarding allegations of assault and caus ... More >>

Austin Peralta's Death Was Fueled By Drugs and Alcohol, Says Coroner's Report

Twenty-two-year-old virtuoso pianist Austin Peralta died shockingly the day before Thanksgiving. Until now, details of the final hours of his life have been mostly a mystery. See also: The Life and Death of Austin Peralta His coroner's report, obtained by West Coast Sound, states that viral pneumo ... More >>

Francisco Leon-Urbalexo Charged In Bizarre Hate Crime Near Third Street Promenade

Santa Monica cops say a man wanted in a strange, random hate crime near Third Street Promenade has been charged in connection with the attack. Francisco Leon-Urbalexo, 39, was tracked down via DNA evidence left behind during the bizarre stabbing last summer, cops say, and will now face allegations ... More >>

L.A.'s Bloody Hit-and-Run Epidemic

The city ignores a crisis of car-as-weapon crime in the streets

Jeffrey Gundlach: $10 Million Santa Monica Art Heist of Jasper Johns, Porsche, Patek

Cops this week were looking for the thieves who cleaned out a Santa Monica home left alone earlier this month by a resident on a "trip." The $10 million-plus haul included "numerous" art works, including a piece by Jasper Johns, a 2010 Porsche and a handful of watches, including a Patek Philippe. Al ... More >>

'Leatherface' Actor Andrew Bryniarski Arrested for Hoarding Pomeranians in Santa Monica RV

We've seen a lot of shady shit go down in the legendary RV community of Venice Beach. But Santa Monica -- its cleaner, more stuck-up neighbor to the north -- has taken pains to ensure that mobile-home dwellers steer clear of its residential areas. Still, one veteran Hollywood anti-hero allegedly g ... More >>

Claire Rose: Friends Say Santa Monica Woman Was Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver on Her Birthday

In Santa Monica's third serious hit-and-run in as many weeks, a 30-year-old woman was killed by the driver of a dark Toyota sedan just after midnight on Monday morning. Friends on Facebook and Twitter identify the victim as Santa Monica resident Claire Rose. They say she was celebrating her birthda ... More >>

Roger Slifer, DC Comics Legend and Transformers Producer, Gravely Injured in Santa Monica Hit-and-Run

Another tragic hit-and-run in Santa Monica last weekend has left comic-book great Roger Slifer, 57, in critical condition. The legend behind DC Comics superhero Lobo and the beloved old TV show Transformers was crossing 5th Street at the Colorado Avenue intersection around 12:57 a.m. early Saturday ... More >>

Daniel Becerril's Victims Use Yelp to Fight Alleged Murderer and Con Man

Teens Break Into Apple Store on Promenade With Sledgehammer, Take $31K in iProducts

When four L.A. teens hatched a plan to break into the iconic Apple Store along the 3rd Street Promenade last week, theirs wasn't a heisty plot of censor-dodging and lock-popping. Nope. According to Sergeant Richard Lewis at the Santa Monica Police Department, these geniuses simply smashed the glass ... More >>

Murder on Montana Ave.

Was LAUSD teacher Sasha Merman slain to hide Daniel Becerril's greed?

Ride-By Bicycle Groper on The Loose in Santa Monica (Again)

'Tis the season when sexual attackers seem to come out of the woodworks. Santa Monica cops are on the lookout for a drive-by attacker who grabs women's butts and flees. Well, drive-by is an exaggeration. This winner is on a bike. The Santa Monica Police Department put out an alert this week:

Alexander Merman, Russian-born Artist Stabbed To Death in Santa Monica, Was Victim of Murder-For-Profit Scheme, Police Say

Updated at bottom: police believe there may be more victims out there. First posted at 10:54 a.m. on Mar. 2. Police believe they have identified the man responsible for the death of Alexander Merman, the Russian-born artist who was found stabbed to death inside his apartment in Santa Monica in 200 ... More >>

Antonio Montejano, U.S. Citizen and L.A. Dad, Detained for Days on 'Immigration Hold'

Jailed for being brown?​It's one thing to deport undocumented immigrants for non-crimes like selling ice cream or driving with a headlight out, even though they've lived here since they were kids. Awful, and inhumane, but technically allowed, under the Obama Administration's harsh federal immi ... More >>

John Travolta's Mercedes Still Missing: Why Did he Leave it on a Residential Street With Parking Restrictions?

A car like Travolta's missing SL.​At the risk of rumor and innuendo, John Travolta really wants his 1970 Mercedes 280 SL back. Santa Monica police today circulated photos of a vehicle that looks like the missing car in hope someone will spot it. It was reported stolen at 3:46 p.m. on Sunday a ... More >>

Elderly Santa Monica Woman Plows Through Crowd of Children at Fourth of July Parade

Perez HiltonThe Affleck children, just out of harm's way.​If you didn't hear about the near-disastrous car crash during Santa Monica's otherwise idyllic (bike traffic notwithstanding) Fourth of July parade last Monday, it's because the old woman behind the wheel, and the group of children she ... More >>

Black Santa Monica High Student Says Wrestling Teammates Hung Noose, Chained Him to Locker, Shouted 'Slave for Sale!'

Is Samohi breeding bigots?​Updated after the jump: The L.A. County Sheriff is now investigating administrators who knew about the hate crime and didn't report it to police -- technically breaking the law. Looks like there's still some unabashed racism in paradise: The Los Angeles Times was ju ... More >>

Melissa Del-Aguila, Recent UCLA Grad, Killed by Santa Monica Taxi After Graduation Celebration at Bar

yoojackieo.blogspot.com/Melissa Del-Aguila had just graduated from UCLA.​Last Friday night, 24-year-old Melissa Del-Aguila went out in skinny jeans and heels to Q's Billiards, a sports bar along Wilshire Boulevard popular with UCLA students. According to the Santa Monica Police Department, Del ... More >>

Ron Hirsch, Synagogue Explosion Suspect, on a Greyhound to New York

Santa Monica Police DepartmentRon Hirsch is suspected of trying to blow a hole in the Chabad House​Update: Santa Monica police say they nabbed the suspect last night in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he was lurking near another synagogue. More after the jump. The homeless man suspected of pla ... More >>

Possible Pipe-Bomb Explosion at Santa Monica Synagogue Prompts Mass Evacuation

Santa Monica Patch​Urgent update: The explosion WAS CAUSED BY GUN POWDER, police say. Details after the jump. Update, April 7, 11 a.m.: Santa Monica police and the FBI confirm that this was not a bomb, but some sort of mechanical issue within the building. The evacuation will soon be lifted. ... More >>

Anupam Sanyal, 23-Year-Old Virginia Tech Student and Aspiring Musician, Dies in Late-Night Santa Monica Street Race

kalka182 via YouTube23-year-old Anupam Sanyal​Updated after the jump: Turns out Sanyal survived the Virgina Tech massacre of 2007. According to an LA Weekly commenter, he even tried to run in and stop the shooter. During what Santa Monica police believe to have been a street race down Wilshir ... More >>

TV Chef Juan Carlos Cruz Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For Attempting To Hire Homeless To Kill Wife

Chef Death?​Despite his earlier claims of innocence, it looks like onetime Food Network chef Juan Carlos Cruz did in fact attempt to whip-up a major course of death for his wife. He was known on Food as the Calorie Commando. But prosecutors said he was a would-be culinary killer. On Monday Cr ... More >>

The Chiller Killer

Michael Gargiulo, accused of killing Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend and other L.A. beauties, got close as the helpful air-conditioning repairman

Santa Monica Police Search For Two Suspects Who Kidnapped, Raped Woman In Broad Daylight

Google MapsPolice said a woman was abducted in Santa Monica before being attacked.​One of the scariest crimes to rock the Westside in several months happened late last month but wasn't publicized by Santa Monica police until last week. It appeared to involve the kidnapping, rape and robbery o ... More >>

Santa Monica Council Launches Inquiry Into Police Investigation Of Latino School Board Member Oscar De La Torre

Oscar de la Torre.​The Santa Monica City Council has agreed to look into possible police misconduct after authorities put a school board member under suspicion for child endangerment and then dropped the investigation. The Santa Monica Police Department opened an investigation into Oscar de la ... More >>

Two Arrested In Murder Of Santa Monica Actress

SMPDSuspect Kelly Soo Park.​Santa Monica police announced Friday that they've arrested two suspects in the murder of 21-year-old actress Juliana Redding, who was found dead in her apartment in the 1500 block of Centinela Avenue on March 16, 2008 after police went there to conduct a welfare che ... More >>

Sticky Situation at the Tar Pits

Amid fears of a political backlash, a drawing of the "La Brea Woman" skull is repressed

12-Year-Old Dies Playing 'Choking Game' In Santa Monica

​Santa Monica police on Wednesday said they were investigating the "accidental death" of a 12-year-old boy who was believed to have been asphyxiated while playing "the choking game." The game sometimes played by pre-teens and teenagers has them explore how long they can go without air -- somet ... More >>

Santa Monica Fire Bug Strikes Near Third Street Promenade

Santa Monica Fire DepartmentFile photo.​For the second time since summer Santa Monica authorities say they have a fire bug on their hands, though it's not clear if the waves of trash and car arson fires are related. February's series of fires happened within a two-block radius near the 1000 bl ... More >>

Cars Are Being Torched In Santa Monica

Santa Monica Fire DepartmentFile photo.​The Santa Monica Arson Task Force is investigating a series of arson-related car and trashcan fires, including six in December, police said. Three fires happened on Dec. 20th alone. The series of fires started in late June and subsided September only t ... More >>

Sin Season

It’s Low Tide for Crime on the Beach

Gunplay

Chief Cooke proves a soft touch