HUNTINGTON BEACH : Building Destroyed; Arson Suspect Held

Police arrested a suspected arsonist Monday shortly after he allegedly set fire to a bikini shop after burglarizing the store.

The building at 408 Pacific Coast Highway, which once housed Jack’s Surf Shop--a landmark store near the city pier--was destroyed, police and fire officials said.

Arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary and arson was Garry Edwin Weaver Jr., 23, of Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Ed McErlain said Weaver was arrested shortly after police were called to investigate the three-alarm blaze.

Witnesses told police that they saw a man running in the direction of the pier moments after they heard breaking glass and saw smoke billowing from the building.

McErlain said officers found the suspect lying under construction material in a closed construction area of the pier, which is being demolished. Some bikinis, T-shirts, shoes and boots that were allegedly stolen from Larry’s Bikini Shop--one of four beachwear and surfing equipment stores in the building--were recovered nearby, he said.

Weaver was being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Huntington Beach Fire Inspector Dan Madrigal said 43 firefighters responded to the blaze about 4:50 a.m.

“It was a complete loss,” Madrigal said, adding that a damage estimate was not immediately available.