More trespassers were spotted at the tagged towers at Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles early Wednesday morning, and authorities have now arrested two people for trespassing on the abandoned property.
One of the suspects was caught by a security guard, while the other was apprehended after he simply walked out of the complex, preliminary information indicates.
No identifying information about the suspects was released other than their ages; one is 20 and the other is 24, LAPD said.
Police told KTLA 5’s Annie Rose Ramos that at least four people remained inside the building as of 10 a.m.
A task force consisting of nearly a dozen police officers was seen making their way up into Tower 1, which is the tallest tower at 55 stories, to search for those individuals on Wednesday morning, Ramos reported.
The search efforts are being hampered by unsafe conditions inside the building, LAPD officials said Wednesday morning.
“There are a lot of exposed wires, exposed rebar and exposed metal sticking out of the side of the building,” said LAPD Sgt. Gordon Helper. “It’s not a safe place to be…I won’t even send the officers up there.”
“There’s water everywhere on the floors and there’s no filtration system to filter the water down,” Sgt. Helper added. “There are poles that are unfinished and now the poles have filled up with water due to all the rain…there’s even bathtubs…that are filled up with water from the rain. It’s disgusting.”
A group of eight to ten individuals were originally seen by officers scaling the newly installed fencing and running into the building on Flower Street around 11:45 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to eyewitness accounts, a second group of people was seen running past police and into the building hours after the first group accessed the complex.
Officers immediately radioed for backup after the sighting, and video obtained by KTLA shows a large police presence at the scene early Wednesday morning.
Officers had set up a perimeter around the entire complex by 5 a.m. Wednesday morning and were seen using spotlights and loudspeakers in an attempt to drive the individuals out.
Police searching for possible trespasses at Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 2024. (OnSceneTV) 
Police searching for possible trespasses at Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 2024. (OnSceneTV) 
Police searching for possible trespasses at Oceanwide Plaza in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 2024. (OnSceneTV)
The possible trespassing comes just over a week after new fencing was put up around Oceanwide Plaza to help deter individuals from entering.
At Wednesday’s press conference, LAPD officials were clear about their goal to take all trespassers at the abandoned complex into custody but expressed concern that once the suspects are released, they will reoffend again.
“Anybody in this Oceanwide Plaza building will be physically arrested, booked, photographed and then released if they meet the criteria for release,” LAPD Capt. Raul Jovel said. “In many cases, we ask for a magistrate review given the likelihood they will come back and continue to try and get into this place.”
Jovel confirmed that he would be asking for a magistrate review — which allows a judge to hold them in custody until their arraignment — for the two suspects arrested on Wednesday morning.
Since the towers were hit by taggers on Jan. 31, the area has become a popular spot for daredevils; one video on social media shows a vandal scaling the outside ledge of the building with no safety equipment and another viral video depicts someone BASE jumping from the roof of the tower.
A total of 28 individuals have been arrested at Oceanwide Plaza in the month of February, authorities said.
