Man arrested after barricading himself in Studio City home, police say

A man who claimed to be the victim of a bank’s fraudulent acts was arrested Wednesday after he threatened to kill himself and barricaded himself inside his Studio City home, police said.

The man, whose name wasn’t immediately available, had made written threats and may have been trying to kill himself, Los Angeles police said.

Officers went to his home in the 12500 block of Landale Street about 3:30 a.m. after receiving a call about an attempted suicide. Police said they have visited the man’s home in the past.

But when they arrived, officers initially believed there was a leak at the home due to a strong odor of gas.

Authorities evacuated two blocks of homes as they determined whether there was a leak, LAPD Officer Jack Richter said.

Later, fire and bomb squad officials determined the odor was emanating from a generator inside the home, he said.

It appeared the man has had issues with Wells Fargo & Co. The Web address of a blog about bank fraud was spelled out in block letters on the roof of his home.

In the blog, he accuses Wells Fargo of opening two checking accounts in his name for a property management company in Utah.

It was unclear whether the man was a victim of fraud, but Wells Fargo recently came under scrutiny for their tactics.

Earlier this month Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer sued the bank for allegedly encouraging its employees to misuse customer information and open new accounts without authorization to meet quotas imposed by branch, district and regional managers.

In statement Wednesday, Wells Fargo did not comment on the man’s allegations.

“We are saddened by today’s events and are grateful for the LAPD’s quick response and prompt resolution to the situation,” Wells Fargo said. “While we cannot publicly address the situation specifically, Wells Fargo works very hard to resolve customer problems.”

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