Police capture suspected locker room burglar

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Police arrested a 57-year-old Fullerton man Tuesday on

suspicion of breaking into lockers at the 24 Hour Fitness gym on Adams

Avenue.

Detectives contacted William Hackerd after gym employees came to them

with a tip that he might be involved in stealing property from lockers in

the men’s locker room, said Lt. Dale Birney of the Costa Mesa Police

Department.

“It looks like they caught him in the act using their surveillance

system,” he said. “Detectives found stolen property he had with him.”

That gym, in the 1600 block of Adams Avenue, has been plagued with the

problem of locker thefts over the last several months, Birney said.

“It’s been an ongoing problem,” he said. “It’s obvious this person was

definitely not responsible for all the thefts that have happened so far

in that gym.”

Gym employees have been cooperating with detectives to resolve the

issue, Birney said.

He said officers are not sure how Hackerd gained access to the lockers

or how he broke into them.

“We don’t know if he used a tool to cut the locks or physically broke

them,” Birney said.

He said the sheer number of people who go to the gym make it a

possible target for the thefts.

“There are just so many members, and it makes it easier for [thieves]

to find whatever property they may want to steal in these lockers,” he

said.

Gym employees declined to comment about the arrest or the recurring

problem.

“It would be inappropriate on our part to comment when the case is

under investigation,” company spokeswoman Allyson Weinfuss said.

She said all 24 Hour Fitness gyms provide members with lockers and

encourage them not to store money or anything of value in them. Warning

signs cautioning members are posted in all lockers, she said.