Crime & Safety

St. Pete Police Make Arrest In String Of Gym Thefts

St. Petersburg Police have arrested a 38-year-old St. Louis man accused of stealing car keys from fitness centers.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- St. Petersburg Police have arrested a 38-year-old St. Louis man accused of casually walking into fitness centers in the city and stealing car keys from the locker rooms.

Police say, between May 2 and 11, Cody Heilig walked into the You Fit Gym, Amped Gym and Suncoast Gym in St. Petersburg and headed toward the locker rooms where he searched for car keys belonging to gym patrons. He then used the car keys to access the patrons' cars where they stowed their wallets so they wouldn't have to bring them into the gym.

Heilig is accused of stealing credit cards from the wallets, which he allegedly used to purchase gift cards and clothes.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Surveillance cameras enabled police to identify Heilig's car, which they found parked at a local hotel. On Wednesday, May 16, Heilig was charged with 11 felonies included armed auto burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon, grand theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and possession of a stolen credit card.

St. Pete Police are in contact with neighboring law enforcement agencies to see if Heilig is connected to other gym thefts.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Image via St. Pete Police

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