Tag: Santa Monica Homelessness

SANTA MONICA—On April 7, an unhoused woman, later identified as Connie Arreola, 40, was arrested on charged with suspicion of animal cruelty after Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) officers responded to a call of a woman assaulting her dog until it yelped in pain. Officers arriving at the scene on Main Street near Pico Boulevard arrested Arreola and took her into custody. SMPD Animal Control was called to pick up the dog and take him to the vet to be evaluated. According to the veterinarian the three-month-old puppy had a broken leg. Kann California Law Group (KCLG) explains the charges for animal cruelty on their webpage. “In sum, to be guilty of violating the Animal Cruelty law under CPC §597(a), you must, hurt or kill a living animal and act maliciously.” Kann goes on to explain that for a person to be convicted under CPC §597(a), the prosecutor must prove beyond reasonable doubt that an act was committed involving the maiming, mutilation, torturing or killing a living animal and that act was malicious. Canyon News reached out to Santa Monica Police Department Lt. Lewis Gilmour for a statement. His statement confirmed the aforementioned details.  In addition, Lt. Gilmour indicated that the injured  puppy remains in the care of the veterinarian.   By Sharon

SANTA MONICA—On Sunday, April 21, just before 3:00 p.m., the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) arrested a single Black male who was grilling meat in his shopping cart. He appeared to be living in homelessness.

The Citizen app first reported a man walking down the bike lane on Ocean Avenue while grilling. He was using a sword as a meat skewer and had a wood fire going in his shopping cart. His fire was put out, and the individual was taken into custody by SMPD officers.

The individual is reportedly facing misdemeanor charges. First reports indicate he may not get a weapons charge since he was not using his sword to cause bodily harm.

The name of the suspect has not been released. There is no more information currently available.

On January 24, 2024, the City of Santa Monica released the results of their 2023 homeless count.

The homeless count results indicate that as of January 2024, Santa Monica has 926 people living in homelessness which is a 15 percent increase compared to 2022. The homeless count completed in 2023 showed 807 individuals living in homelessness.

By Sharon