Police Arrest 2 Men in Condemned Building

Police arrested two men at a condemned apartment building Friday--one for allegedly attempting to loot the building and the other for entering the building and giving the first man permission to take what he wanted, authorities said.

Members of Devonshire’s Volunteer Surveillance Team, a citizens watch group, noticed Edgar Pearson Jr., 56, of Van Nuys, carrying a pickax into an apartment building in the 8500 block of Balboa Boulevard that had been red-tagged after the quake, Officer Martin Pinner said.

The volunteers later watched the man climb onto the roof and throw materials over the side, Pinner said. By the time police arrived, the suspect was loading copper wire and a sink into his truck, Pinner said.

“He told us there was a guy living in the building who gave him permission,” Pinner said. “So we went in and arrested him too because he was living in someone else’s apartment.”

The second man, Leon Outten, 34, of Van Nuys, was arrested for entering a condemned building, Pinner said.