Police arrested a man wanted for peeping and prowling several times around UCLA student apartments in Westwood.
University police officers arrested the man Friday morning after he asked an acquaintance to store his belongings and buy him an Amtrak ticket to Santa Barbara under a false name.
Christopher Mendicino, 47, is a suspect in about eight peeping incidents in Westwood, including several in recent months, said university police Lt. Mark Littlestone. UCPD also arrested him in 2007 for probable cause burglary after officers saw him peering into an apartment on Ophir Drive and trying to open the door.
Mendicino was arrested in May on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after peeking into an inhabited building. After he did not show up to his arraignment, police released a wanted poster in July.
University police officials said Mendicino may match the description of about eight peeping suspects in Westwood since March, including five on Kelton Avenue. Three of the eight incidents took place since he was last arrested in May.
Littlestone said Mendicino’s acquaintance called university police after he saw the UCPD wanted poster.
“They saw the news bulletin and said, ‘I want none of this,’” Littlestone said.
Police found another train ticket, to San Luis Obispo, in Mendicino’s possession after they arrested him.
Littlestone said UCPD officers staked out the home near the corner of Rochester and Saltair avenues in Santa Monica. Officers arrested Mendicino just after 6 a.m. Friday, and he was booked about half an hour later.
He said that police had been looking for Mendicino since he missed his court date, but did not find him until the tip because he does not have a listed permanent address.
Mendicino is a former employee of several Westwood businesses, including the Village Center Newsstand, which closed in June.
Littlestone said he hopes the number of peeping incidents on the Westside will be reduced now that Mendicino is behind bars.
Mendicino is being held at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles on $30,000 bail. He will appear in court Aug. 4 at the Los Angeles Superior Court Airport Courthouse.
Anyone with additional information regarding this case or other peeping cases can call UCPD at (310) 825-1491.
Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff.