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Police Arrest 10 Burglary Suspects in Evacuation Zones
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By Jorge Casuso January 13, 2025 -- Since emergency orders were issued in Santa Monica last Tuesday, police officers have made more than 40 arrests in evacuation zones during the Pacific Palisades fire, police officials said Monday. Over the past week, officers stopped hundreds of individuals in the city’s evacuation zones in the northern part of the city, resulting in a "significant increase" in arrests in those areas, officials said. The zones, which stretched north from Montana Avenue to San Vicente Boulevard, included the Wilmont neighborhood, which is Santa Monica's most densely populated area, and North of Montana (NOMA), one of the nation's most affluent neighborhoods. While officers can detain and arrest unauthorized subjects in the evacuation area at any time, most of those arrested were also violating the City's curfew from sunset to sunrise, police said. The arrests included ten arrests for burglary and six for possession of burglary tools, police officials said. Two of the individuals arrested were in possession of concealed handguns. Other arrests were made for crimes that included drug possession, driving violations, outstanding warrant, and parole and probation violations. None of those arrested are from Santa Monica. The first burglary related arrest took place Thursday at 4:39 p.m. when officers assigned to the mandatory evacuation area north of San Vicente observed a white cargo van failing to stop at the intersection of 11th and Carlyle. The officers pulled over the vehicle driven by Miguel Angel Dorantes, 22, accompanied by Dominic Pacheco Magana, 18, neither of whom had identification. "The vehicle was missing the front license plate and displayed stolen registration stickers," said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the Police Department spokesperson. "During the investigation, Pacheco Magana was seen using the Watch Duty app on his phone," Aklufi said. "The app shows maps of active fires and evacuation zones, including the zones in Santa Monica." Officers searched the vehicle and found a black ski mask, a pair of black Nike nylon gloves, three large Amazon freight tote bags and black t-shirts. "Based on the items located inside the vehicle, the location of the vehicle stop, the ski mask, and the attempt to conceal their identity and avoid detection by removing the license plate, officers arrested the duo for being in the mandatory evacuation area with the specific intent to commit residential burglaries," Aklufi said. Four suspects were arrested on Friday at 4:20 a.m. at 4th Street and Alta Avenue after SMPD officers and mutual aid officers from UCLA PD stopped a vehicle in the evacuation zone during curfew. "The vehicle had darkly tinted windows and license plates that did not belong to the vehicle," Aklufi said. Officers saw multiple license plates in the front driver side, one of which belonged to the vehicle. Officers also found multiple key fobs, a key fob programmer, a window breaker (and) a small saw and gloves, she said. "All parties inside the vehicle had multiple key fobs in their possession." The driver, Fernando Garcia Jr., 22, and three passengers -- Markhi Toles, 20; Joshua Charles, 20, and Khamari Toles, 19, -- were arrested for conspiracy to commit vehicle theft. Garcia was arrested for driving with a fake or fraudulent license plate and misappropriation of lost property. Another burglary related incident took place Saturday at around 9 p.m. after officers parked in the 200 Block of 9th Street inside the evacuation zone observed a sedan approach the stop sign at 9th Street and San Vicente Boulevard. "The officers could see the vehicle had a crumbled white paper plate that appeared to be handwritten with a black marker," a violation of the California Vehicle Code, Aklufi said. The driver, Adrian Moreno Hernandez, 49, was not licensed and was in possession of narcotics and burglary tools. One of the passengers, Carmen Alicia Lopez, 56, was in possession of drug paraphernalia and burglary tools. The other passenger, Moises Becerra Garcia, 49 provided false identification to the officers and was in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a headlamp. An hour later, another burglary related incident took place at around 10 p.m. in an apartment building on the 400 Block of San Vicente Boulevard, where the suspect was "seen going through cabinets in the common area and garage," Aklufi said. Responding officers found an individual matching a witness’s description of the suspect in the alley behind the 600 Block of San Vicente. After attempting to flee, the suspect -- identified as Joshua Kaliel Love, 29, -- was detained without incident. Love "consented to a search of his person," which uncovered "a gold-colored window punch, a common burglary tool," one blue mechanic glove and a ski mask, Aklufi said. A second blue glove was found in the area. One of the responding officers recognized Love from an encounter the previous day "when the officer advised Love about the curfew and evacuation orders," Aklufi said. He was arrested at that time for possession of methamphetamine. “I am grateful for the unwavering dedication and professionalism of all the officers and professional staff in the SMPD," Police Chief Ramon Batista said in a statement Monday. "Over the past seven days, while the fires in Palisades tested the resilience of many, each of them stood strong, ensuring that the city of Santa Monica remained safe and secure. "I am also grateful for the collaboration with our mutual aid partners who supported us on the front lines and the National Guard for helping us secure the evacuation zones and maintain entry and exit points to the closed areas,” Batista said. |
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