Man Wanted For Breaking Into New York Sports Club Lockers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are asking for the public's help catching a locker room bandit.

Investigators said the suspect has targeted eight New York Sports Club locations throughout the city, taking people's valuables while they're working out. In total, the man has broken into 15 lockers.

The most recent theft was on Jan. 5 at a gym at 128 8th Ave. in Chelsea.

Police have released images of the suspect taken from four different gyms dating back to Sept. 23.

Items stolen include shoes, headphones, credits cards, wallets and laptops.

Some lockers were unlocked but most were locked. In one incident the man cut the lock.

Gym goers said they're on the lookout.

"There are signs all over the place in the locker room from the police department saying don't leave your stuff unattended," Sean Kelly of Chelsea said. "I'm going to get bigger muscles to beat this guy up."

"I wouldn't put my valuables in the locker, I'd keep them on me, and if I did, I would put them in a discreet place," said Hunter Johnson of Australia.

John Sexton says he used a different tactic today to secure his belongings after hearing someone was breaking into lockers.

"I took my work bag to the treadmill and then hid it when I was in the shower," Sexton, of the Upper East Side, said.

"It does upset me, they should be watching that, they should be paying attention, who's breaking the locks," Maribel Otero of the Lower East Side Said.

The clubs being targeted span from one on 41st Street in Midtown to one in the West Village, with the suspect sometimes breaking into lockers at each location more than once.

"For me personally, I just carry my bag around when I'm working out and stuff, because I've had my share of experiences getting my stuff stolen," Laurence Cruz said.

George Masino said he used to be a trainer at another gym which had a similar problem.

"In the other club they put security people disguised, hanging out in the locker room, detectives or police," he said.

A spokesperson with the NYSC issued a statement saying,"We have security cameras located outside the entrance and exit to all locker rooms and we conduct regularly scheduled walk-throughs of locker rooms by staff."