A Lake Elsinore man allegedly connected to multiple LA Fitness burglaries was arrested Thursday.
A Lake Elsinore Police Department investigator received a call from a manager at LA Fitness on Thursday advising a member of the club recognized a suspect involved in a theft investigation.
The caller observed the suspect open lockers inside the men's locker room and remove a wallet from a locker. With the assistance of club employees, witnesses detained the suspect. A uniformed officer responded to the gym and detained the suspect.
He was taken to the Lake Elsinore Police station for further investigation. He was identified as Brandan Morales Rodriguez, 29, of Lake Elsinore. He was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on charges of burglary and possession of stolen property.
Police believe Rordiguez is connected to previous burglaries. One occurred at the same LA Fitness on April 20 where the victim lost a laptop computer, a wedding band and gift cards from Costco among other items.
At the time of the initial investigation, no suspect leads were developed.
But, on April 30, an investigator was dispatched to a follow-up investigation where that same victim reported that his stolen Costco gift cards were used at the Costco store in Lake Elsinore. The investigator obtained surveillance video of the suspect.
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A flyer with the suspect's photo was generated and presented to staff at LA Fitness.
Search warrants were served in San Jacinto and Lake Elsinore. The initial victim's laptop computer was recovered, along with 15 men's watches, and 10 high-value men's wallets. Property belonging to another victim was recovered, who stated his property was stolen from a locker in an LA Fitness gym in Oceanside. Other property was also recovered.
The burglary investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have been a victim of a theft at LA Fitness is encouraged to contact Lead Investigator Carranza at the Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station at 951-245-3300.
Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff's CrimeTips online form.
