A Lee County man is now in custody after the suspect stole several car keys at local gyms and broke into corresponding vehicles to steal valuables in the last two weeks.
The suspect, Evan Finlay, 28, faces several charges, which are multiple conveyance burglaries, fraudulent use of credit cards, grand theft, petit theft, dealing in stolen property and providing false information to a pawnbroker.
Three different victims left their car keys on gym boards next to those of other members. According to the SWFL Crime Stoppers press release, the first incident took place at a Generation Fitness on S. Cleveland Ave. A woman was alerted by her bank of fraud and returned to her vehicle to find her wallet, credit cards and cash stolen.
In the second incident, which took place on Dec. 17 at a Crunch Fitness on Summerlin Rd., the victim returned to her car unlocked with her purse and credit cards missing. The victim found out later that in the hour she was away, multiple gift cards totaling $1,100 were purchased using her money.
The SWFL Crime Stoppers press release details a third incident, which took place on Dec. 19 at a Planet Fitness at Old McGregor Blvd. The man was fortunate to find that while his car was “rifled through,” no valuables were taken.