Santa Monica Crime

Recently, the crime in Santa Monica has been steadily rising. This increase is affecting Santa Monica and Samo students as a whole.On Aug. 21, 2017, a male victim was threatened by female suspect, Kathleen Ann Ricketson, with a knife at the Santa Monica Pier. According to law officials, the suspect had asked the victim for a lighter and after he gave it to her, she became violent with him and attempted to injure him with the knife multiple times. Fortunately, the police were quickly brought to the scene and could control the situation before anyone was injured. Ricketson was arrested and is being charged for assault with a deadly weapon.The Santa Monica Pier was again a location of crime when it was evacuated on Sept. 11, due to bomb threats reported to Hawthorne PD and Culver City PD. This lead the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) to an investigation, and later the uncovering of a “suspicious vehicle.” After hours of closures of the landmark, and the rise of fear throughout residents, the pier was reopened.In addition to the multiple incidents at the pier, only two blocks up, at the McDonald’s on 2nd Street, there has also been a fair share of criminal activity. On Aug. 26, altercations between the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) and transient, Jesus Jose Vidana, disrupted the environment. The SMFD was already at McDonald’s because they were medically treating an unrelated patient, when suspect Vidana swung at them with a chain. He continued to threatened them until the SMPD arrived at the scene and could maintain the disturbance. Earlier that month on Aug. 17, Kallezy Reginald Cason and Deshawn White were arrested outside the same McDonald’s on 2nd Street. They were confronted by the police for violating the Santa Monica no-smoking code, and when approached by two officers, the suspects were not compliant. Their lack of cooperation led to the addition of more officers, and later a search of both suspects. The search uncovered a series of other drugs and illegal substances, which lead to their arrest.Again at McDonald’s on 2nd Street, on Aug. 8, 2017, there was an attempted robbery of the cash registers. Transient and suspect, Brian Joseph Barrett, went behind the employee counter to steal from the registers. The staff on the clock could not stop him, but the security guard’s quick thinking resulted in suspect Barrett being peppered sprayed in the face. Barrett was later arrested by SMPD.These are only three of numerous crimes that are reported at the McDonald’s on 2nd Street, so it is advised for people to be aware and alert when they are in that area or working on the site. Samo student Selome Gebremedhin (’18) is a regular employee at the McDonald’s on 2nd Street. “We call the cops at least twice a day,” Gebremedhin said.Closer to Samo, on Thursday Sept. 14, 2017, Pico Blvd was closed due to a stolen car incident. The street closing caused students to be late to school and also a lockdown of certain houses on Pico. In this pursuit, one of two suspects were found and arrested, but the other is still not in custody. This is just one of two car chases that has been connected to Santa Monica in the past weeks. On Thursday Aug. 31, 2017, a truck was stolen in the Santa Monica area and chased into LA until the driver surrendered and was arrested by the LAPD. A more violent crime was committed by transient, Christopher Charles Davis, who is now arrested and being charged for murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and a felon for possession of a firearm. On Aug. 4, 2017, gunshots were fired by Davis at Hotchkiss Park near Main Street and Strand Avenue, resulting in the death of the victim after he was transported to the hospital. When officers arrived at the scene, crossfire between the officials and the suspect was necessary to gain control over Davis. During the crossfire, Davis was shot and later transported to a local hospital where he recovered and was held in custody.In addition to these crimes, there have been many others committed by homeless. There is no doubt that around the same time as the opening and publicity of the Metro extension to Santa Monica, these crime rates grew, especially by homeless suspects.  Although there seems to be a correlation between the two factors, Lt. Saul Rodriguez stresses that there is no definite connection or qualitative evidence of the association between the Metro and homeless crime. Rodriguez explained the recent crimes in Santa Monica and what has caused the increase. “There cannot just be one contributing factor, you have got to think of all the legislative changes that have occurred over the last year,” Rodriguez said.He mentioned that these legislative changes are regarding the addition and removal of specific propositions, such as Proposition 109. This proposition allows incarcerated people to be let out earlier and commit more crimes. Another addition is the passing of Proposition 47, which changes the guidelines of determining the type of crime committed. For example, a crime that might have been characterized as a felon is now considered a misdemeanor, meaning the convict serves less time. There is much being done by law enforcement to try and minimize the crime in Santa Monica, but young students must be careful and try to stay safe. Santa Monica is a relatively safe city, but with the recent boom of crime, many people are growing fearful for their safety and the security of their valuables and loved ones.