Man posing as security officer robs 2 boys

Police are asking for the public's help in finding a man in his 20s who officials say stole items from two boys last week at Pearlridge Shopping Center.

About 2:30 p.m. Nov. 11, the man, who was dressed in all black and wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sunglasses, stopped the boys and told them he was a security officer, police said.

The man told the boys that they were suspects in a theft and that they were to follow him, police said. Two other men met the first man and also identified the boys as suspects, police said. The boys were then told to follow the man into the parking lot.

Once there, the man took the boys' property and fled, police said.

He was described as 6 feet tall with a thin build and black hair. He has a tattoo of an unknown design on his left forearm. Police did not provide further information on the other men.

Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME from a cell phone.

Second floor of house destroyed by blaze

No one was injured when a fire destroyed the second floor of a two-story Pauoa Valley house yesterday.

Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said the 10-bedroom wooden house at 337 Liko Lane was home to an extended family of 18 people. Damage was estimated at $500,000 to the structure and $25,000 to its contents, he said.

Firefighters received the call at 2:37 p.m., and the fire was brought under control at 2:49 p.m. and put out at 3:06 p.m.

Four adults and a child were in the house at the time of the fire, Seelig said. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the second floor when firefighters arrived, he said.

The cause remains under investigation.