By Jorge Casuso

March 25, 2022 -- A homeless man believed to be responsible for a number of recent commercial burglaries was arrested early Sunday morning after breaking into a restaurant on Pico Boulevard, police said Thursday.

The incident began shortly before 3 a.m. when officers were dispatched to investigate a burglary at Dr. T House on 17th Street and Pico, an eatery popular with Santa Monica College students. When officers arrived at the scene, they found the front glass door to the restaurant was broken, police said. The reporting party flagged the officers down and provided "a description of the suspect and his direction of travel," said Lt. Rudy Flores, the Police Department spokesman.

Officers drove through the 1900 block of alley 17 and located the man who fit the description, Flores said. He was later identified as Austin Reed Turner-Crawford, a 24-year-old homeless man.

The officers recovered three stolen Apple iPads and US currency on Turner-Crawford’s person, Flores said. He also was in possession of a cylindrical pipe, commonly used as drug paraphernalia.

Turner-Crawford was placed under arrest then transported to the Santa Monica Jail, where he was booked for burglary, possession of drug paraphernalia and an outstanding burglary warrant.

"SMPD Detectives believe that Turner-Crawford may be responsible for other recent commercial burglaries in the area," Flores said.

Of the eight arrests that have made local news this year, six involved homeless suspects, according to a review by the Lookout.

Four of those arrests involved burglaries, while the other two involved a stabbing and an assault, according to police. ("Homeless Attacks Trigger Debate," January 25, 2022).

A ninth incident made headlines when a man was stabbed on the platform of the 26th Street and Bergamot Metro Expo line station on March 1 after a fight broke out.

It was not known at the time if the suspect and victim were passengers or if they were homeless, the Sheriff's Department said ("Burglary Suspect Arrested, Man Stabbed on Train Platform," March 2, 2022).

Anyone with more information about Sunday's arrest should call Detective Zamfirov at 310-458-8398 or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8426.