INSIDE
Santa Monica Police Arrest 2 Men After Finding Burglary Tools and Copper Wire smmirror.com
August 14 – August 20, 2026 Volume CXXIII Issue 214
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Son of late opera singer Jubilant Sykes enters not guilty plea in fatal Santa Monica attack Micah Curtis Sykes faces a potential life sentence after formal arraignment in father's death.
Murder charges officially moved forward Thursday against the 31-year-old son of renowned baritone Jubilant Sykes after the defendant entered a not guilty plea in court for the December 2025 killing of his father. Court proceedings for Micah Curtis Sykes had been repeatedly delayed since prosecutors first filed the felony case late last year. Following multiple continuances, the younger Sykes appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court to formally deny the allegations. Charges against Sykes include one count of felony murder, accompanied by special allegations involving the use of a deadly weapon and the infliction of severe injury on an elderly victim over age 60. Law enforcement authorities report that
the fatal assault occurred around 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 8, 2025, inside the family’s Santa Monica residence. Investigators allege that Sykes launched a sudden, multi-weapon attack against his 71-year-old father using a dagger, garden shears, and a barbell. The victim’s wife witnessed the onset of the violence and alerted emergency services. First responders arrived shortly after the 911 call, but the elder Sykes succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Elder Abuse Section are leading the case alongside Santa Monica police detectives. The court denied bail, ordering Sykes to remain in custody leading up to his next court appearance, scheduled for a Sept. 2 preliminary hearing setting at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. If convicted on all counts, Sykes faces a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment in state prison. Jubilant Sykes was a celebrated Grammy-nominated vocalist who earned international acclaim for his performances blending classical opera, spirituals, and jazz across major international venues.
Horrific Metro bus attack ends with steep prison sentence for Santa Monica man The court hands down decades behind bars following a brutal 2023 stabbing on public transit.
State prison time amounting to life plus seven years was ordered for a 67-year-old Santa Monica man convicted of carrying out a racially motivated stabbing aboard a public transit vehicle. Superior Court proceedings concluded with the sentencing of Gerald Pitts following his June conviction on attempted murder charges. The sentence allows for the eventual possibility of parole. Jurors determined that Pitts acted with premeditation and intentionally targeted victim Santos Tejas Gonzalez based on his actual or perceived race, ethnicity,
or nationality, establishing the assault as a Metro bus hate crime. Additional sentencing enhancements were affirmed for personal use of a knife and the infliction of great bodily injury. Video of the attack can be seen here. Viewer discretion is advised. Court records show the violent encounter occurred around 9 p.m. on March 25, 2023, when Gonzalez boarded a Los Angeles Metro bus. As Gonzalez moved down the aisle to find a seat, Pitts immediately began directing racial slurs at him. Seeking to defuse the situation, Gonzalez attempted to exit the vehicle at the intersection of Western Avenue and Exposition Boulevard. Pitts confronted him at the door, stabbing him repeatedly across his face, arm, hand, and abdomen. When the wounded man collapsed onto the pavement outside the bus, Pitts continued the assault, kicking Gonzalez in the head while shouting additional slurs. Gonzalez survived the assault after receiving emergency treatment for severe, life-threatening injuries.
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Two dead after intense early morning house fire in Santa Monica Emergency crews discover victims inside burning Lincoln Boulevard home.
Firefighters responding to an early Sunday morning emergency found two people dead inside a burning Lincoln Boulevard residence. Crews from the Santa Monica Fire Department arrived to find heavy flames engulfing the structure shortly before 3 a.m. Noticing a vehicle parked in the driveway, emergency personnel pushed into the burning structure to perform a targeted search while working to suppress the blaze. Rescuers located two victims inside, both of whom were declared dead at the scene. “Firefighters initiated an aggressive fire attack and conducted a primary search of the residence. Two occupants were located inside the home and removed. Advanced life support measures were immediately initiated; however, both individuals were
pronounced dead at the scene. There were no firefighter injuries,” according to a statement quoted by KTLA 5 News. Area residents indicated that an elderly couple and a caretaker occupied the
property. Official confirmation regarding the identities of the deceased remains pending notification of next of kin by county authorities. Arson investigators and public safety
officials are analyzing the scene to determine what triggered the fatal Santa Monica house fire. No additional injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
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Santa Monica Police Arrest 2 Men After Finding Burglary Tools and Copper Wire Officers on extra patrol near Cloverfield Boulevard and Pearl Street in Santa Monica spotted the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop By Carlos Reyes
Santa Monica police arrested two men early Monday after stopping a vehicle with an altered license plate and finding burglary tools, copper wiring, stolen property and other items inside, authorities said. Officers on extra patrol near Cloverfield Boulevard and Pearl Street spotted the vehicle about 2:01 a.m. Aug. 3 and initiated a traffic stop near 25th Street and Pearl Street, according to a statement from the Santa Monica Police Department. Driver Walter Hernandez, 28, was found to be driving without a valid license. Officers also saw open containers of alcohol in the vehicle. A search turned up burglary tools, about 10 feet of heavy-
gauge copper wiring, drug paraphernalia, multiple vehicle key fobs, two license plates that did not belong to the vehicle — one reported stolen from a BMW — and three cellphones wrapped in clear tape inside a backpack, police said. Hernandez and passenger Cristian Alberto Portillo, 41, were arrested on
suspicion of possessing burglary tools, theft of copper wire, possession of stolen property and criminal conspiracy. Hernandez faced additional charges related to the altered plate, driving without a license, possession of an open container and possession of drug paraphernalia. Portillo also had an outstanding felony warrant
from Ventura County for grand theft and criminal conspiracy, the department said. The vehicle was towed and the recovered property booked into evidence. Detectives are investigating the origin of the copper wiring, license plates, key fobs and other items.
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FILM REVIEW SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY
BEHIND THE SCREEN By Kathryn Whitney Boole This is not your father’s, mother’s, grandfather’s or grandmother’s SpiderMan. This is how a comic book character movie should be made. The lead character here may have superpowers, but he’s human in spirit and has a heart endowed with self-doubt, loneliness, fears, joys and yearnings, just like the rest of us. The camera work led by cinematographer Brett Pawlak goes beyond anything seen before in the Spiderverse, with point-ofview shots filling the screen as our hero swings through the narrow spaces between skyscrapers in New York City, sometimes speeding like a drone, sometimes like a missile, often like a drunken boomerang. You will feel like you are swinging through the air with him. The smooth and precise editing of these shots adds to the realism of Spider-Man’s drops and spins. New York City is not just a location backdrop here. It seems to have a persona
of its own. The colors of its enormous skyscrapers seem to change with the city’s mood. The camera angles make you feel the grandeur, hugeness, and breathtaking heights of the city. The music is varied and perfectly tuned to the visuals, thanks to superb composer Michael Giacchino. This is one of the few films where special effects seem real. When a character’s mind is suddenly taken over, the image on the screen makes you feel the sudden loss of identity. The film was directed by Dustin Daniel
Cretton, a filmmaker, writer, and director from Haiku, Hawaii, who won a Nichol Scholarship for his screenplay for Short Term 12 in 2010, directed that film, which was praised by critics. Incidentally, his cinematographer for Short Term 12 was Brett Pawlak, who is director of photography for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who have been writing partners for film and TV projects for many years, wrote the outstanding screenplay for this SpiderMan film. The production designer for the gorgeous sets and backdrops for this movie is Charles Wood, creator of production design for Project Hail Mary, which was released earlier this year. Though there have been extraordinary performances through the years defining the character of the web-slinging hero, I believe he has never been better represented than by Tom Holland. Holland shows the range of emotions that would be swirling inside a young man as he contends with changes in his own psyche and with his constantly switching identity. What makes Holland really shine as Spider-Man is that he began his career as a dancer, and SpiderMan is essentially a ballet dancer. I would love to see a classic choreographer create a Spider-Man ballet. You can Google “Tom Holland Ballerina Spin” and watch a cute short video of him teaching some elementary school kids to pirouette. As a teen, Holland trained extensively in ballet, hip hop, acrobatics and gymnastics for his role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London’s West End. This background gives him the strength, balance and agility to make his character look genuine. As Spider-Man, Holland assumes positions that most people can’t replicate, and makes it look easy. The actor has now been playing “Peter Parker/ Spider-Man” since 2016. Cretton enlisted legendary casting director Sarah Halley Finn to engage an extraordinary cast, many of whom are reprising roles in the continuing SpiderMan story. Florence Pugh has intense cameo scenes as “Yelena Belova / Black Widow.” Zendaya agreed to play “MJ,” even though she was shooting three other
projects at the same time - TV’s Euphoria, Dune Part Three and The Drama. Zendaya and Holland, who famously are husband and wife, both began their careers as dancers, one of the most solid bases for an actor’s training. Sadie Sink, a charismatic redhead, plays a new character, “ Jean Grey.” You may recognize her from. Jon Bernthal reprises his character Frank Castle/ The Punisher. You may have seen him as the sardonic spirit of Michael Barzatto in The Bear, or in the great movie Baby Driver, or in The Accountant, or The Wolf of Wall Street. Bernthal brings a powerful emotional punch to any production he’s part of. It has been documented that between our teens and twenties. there are sweeping changes happening in our brains that affect our emotions and can cause upheaval in our sense of stability. The “brooding young man” character so often found in literature is based on reality. Even as a superhero, Spider-Man is experiencing this, and it is played perfectly by Holland. All the characters go through real emotional arcs, and all are relatable. Every character materializes in great detail, without elaborate backstory. That’s a credit to the actors and the writers. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is alive with feeling and awe, and that is due to the creative genius of the writers, the director, the actors, and the filmmakers. Bernthal noted, “It felt enormously human, how much connection to character and emotion there was, and to the fractured human connection between these characters.” Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
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OPINION
Why Santa Monica Wanted Out of the Regional Water System, And What Happened SMa.r.t. Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow
For over a decade, the City poured money into infrastructure meant to do one thing: kill its dependence on imported water, the expensive, unreliable, and undependable supply that still covers 30% of what the city drinks. That plan is now broken. City documents show new state housing mandates will swell the population well past what local supplies can handle, a fact buried inside the very Water Plan the Council approved last month without a single word of discussion. In addition, nobody asked whether the Metropolitan Water District could actually cover the shortfall in a five-year drought. The plan just assumes it will, leaning on MWD's own previous projections, with no evidence those projections account for the larger population the state is now forcing on the City. Money once earmarked for water independence will instead buy more imported water from the Metropolitan Water District to cover the new demand. That shift is baked into the powerful rate increases hitting ratepayers now and in coming years. But those increases no longer fund the old goal. They fund permanent dependence on MWD. The original goal of water independence is gone. City documents now talk about "reducing reliance" on imported water, not ending it. The change leaves the city more vulnerable to drought, ratepayers with higher bills, and residents more exposed to events beyond the city’s control. Why the shift happened, and why rates keep climbing, is coming in this and later parts of this series. The case for independence sits in the city's 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan Update, in a section called "Why Water SelfSufficiency?” The city's 2018 Sustainable Water Master Plan gave four reasons for pursuing self-sufficiency: lower long-term costs, drought resilience, reduced energy consumption, and greater control over supply. Santa Monica's imported water comes through MWD from the Colorado River and Northern California, sources the city doesn't control and that are exposed to drought and shrinking allocations. Earthquakes were part of the calculation too. Imported water travels hundreds of miles through aqueducts that cross major faults, and then Mayor Kevin McKeown warned in his 2020 State of the City address that a break in one of them could cut Santa Monica off from MWD entirely. Water independence wasn't just an environmental goal. It was treated as emergency preparedness. Money mattered as well. City documents reported that imported MWD water could
cost substantially more than water produced locally, and while local infrastructure was expensive to build, the city argued it would buy long-term control over costs down the road. What the Drought Taught the City The 2012-16 drought turned selfsufficiency from an idea into a funded program. Officials came out of it concluding that treating imported water as a sure thing had been a mistake. After the 2015 statewide drought emergency, the city pushed conservation hard, cutting demand by roughly 25 percent, while working toward what it called a diverse, drought-resilient supply. It turned out that using less water was the easy part. Building enough local supply to make the regional system optional cost real money. What Hasn't Changed The pitch to residents was straightforward: local water would be cheaper, more reliable in a drought, less vulnerable to an earthquake severing imported-water aqueducts, less energyintensive, and under the City's control rather than a regional agency's. Santa Monica committed well over $100 million to that effort, building local-water infrastructure over more than a decade and raising water rates in 2020 in part to finance projects expressly intended to end the City's dependence on imported water. The risks that justified that investment haven't gone away. Colorado River
supplies are more uncertain today, not less. The aqueducts remain vulnerable to a major earthquake, and climate change has made long-term water supplies more, not less, unpredictable. So why did the deadline disappear and the goal of a more secure, dependable and less expensive water supply simply vanish? The city once treated dependence on imported water as too costly and too risky to accept. Now officials say a bigger, more populous Santa Monica can keep buying from MWD indefinitely. Something changed the math and has been accepted by the city’s leadership without discussion. What Has Changed The state’s housing requirements. California’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment required Santa Monica to plan for roughly 8,895 additional units, and more housing means more residents, which means more water demand than the 2018 plan ever accounted for. The city built its 2024 Water Conservation Master Plan around those higher projections, and the Draft 2025 Urban Water Management Plan, in its diffident language, says the added housing "may affect" the 2018 self-sufficiency goal, since the population assumptions underneath it no longer hold. The state never ordered Santa Monica to give up on independence. It changed the math the old goal was built on and made water independence a nearly impossible target. The city's planning documents now talk about reducing reliance on imported
water rather than eliminating it. For more than a decade, Santa Monica's answer to an uncertain regional water future was independence. The city spent heavily pursuing it, and residents are paying, and will keep paying, higher water rates partly to fund that pursuit. Then population growth, mandated by the state, rewrote the calculation. Santa Monica is now planning on permanent reliance on imported water using funds intended to wean itself off that water, and the Council has yet to publicly reckon with what happened to the original goal, what it means for the ratepayers who financed it, or whether MWD can actually deliver the water Santa Monica may need most. Part 2, next week: Santa Monica just finished rewriting its water plan for one wave of state-mandated housing. Before the ink dried, a second wave arrived. Daniel Jansenson, Architect, for S.M.a.r.t.: Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow Dan Jansenson, Architect (former Building & Fire-Life Safety Commissioner); Robert H. Taylor, Architect AIA; Mario Fonda-Bonardi, Architect AIA (former Planning Commissioner); Sam Tolkin, Architect (former Planning Commissioner); Michael Jolly ARE-CRE; Jack Hillbrand AIA, Architect; Phil Brock (SM Mayor, ret.); Matt Hoefler, Architect NCARB; Charles Andrews, columnist, journalist; Bruce Leddy, Human Services Commissioner & NOMA Co-Chair.
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