They walked right in -- that's what a downtown property manager said of the three armed men who entered an apartment building Friday afternoon and forced their way into a Penn State student apartment with a semiautomatic gun.
The gun-wielding man is still at large in the Pittsburgh area as new details emerge surrounding Friday's Beaver Terrace robbery, police said.
Police said Arnold J. Sayles Jr., 19, and Barrington D. Wilson Jr., 18, turned themselves in Sunday morning after they learned authorities had their faces on security camera footage. Sayles told police the third man in the video footage is his cousin Dalen Sayles, who is believed to be in the Pittsburgh area, according to court documents.
Arnold Sayles remains behind bars on $30,000 straight bail. Centre County Correctional Facility officials said Wilson posted his bail sometime Monday.
The entrance doors remain unlocked at the 456 E. Beaver Ave. apartment building, and there are no plans to implement a card access swipe system, said Associate Realty Property Manager (ARPM) owner Mark Bigatel. ARPM manages Beaver Terrace.
"Anyone can get in any building at any time. It's as simple as that," Bigatel said. "This isn't like a dorm -- these are apartments. It's a private residence."
After knocking on the door, the armed man pushed his way into the apartment, shoving a black-and-gray semiautomatic gun in Penn State student Kevin Levy's face, the State College Police Department said.
The man then grabbed Levy by his neck and shoved him against the wall while other men entered, police said. After sitting the apartment residents down and forcing them to empty their pockets, the three men left with a little more than $50 and three cell phones, police said.
Since 2002, all of the on-campus dormitories use Penn State card systems, said Penn State spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz. She called the Beaver Terrace incident "disturbing" but "not commonplace."
"This campus and the surrounding community continue to be among the safest places in the commonwealth," Mountz said.
Bigatel, who has worked at ARPM for 30 years, agreed with Mountz and called the incident rare. He said security cameras also help to keep the buildings safe.
"Our cameras deter this type of activity in most cases," he said. "If it doesn't, we catch them quickly."
Police incorrectly stated Sunday evening that David W. Barrington was arrested. The correct man charged in connection with the incident is Barrington D. Wilson, police said. Police did not say why the error occurred.
Wilson, of Stroudsburg, and Sayles, of North Versailles, are each charged with felony robbery, felony criminal conspiracy, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property, according to court documents.
The three men drove from Lock Haven and called someone who knew one of the three students inside the apartment they entered, police said.
"This was not a random situation," Bigatel said.
