Alexandria man on run from police for more than a year after theft from gym in Carlyle

A male suspected of breaking into a locker at a gym in the Carlyle area and going on a spending spree has been on the run for more than a year-and-a-half.

The incident at OneLife Fitness occurred on December 1, 2019. The victim told police that he locked his belongings with a Swiss turnstile lock, and returned 40 minutes later to find the lock gone and the locker empty. Among the items stolen were a $100 duffel bag, a sterling silver money clip, cash, credit cards, his driver’s license, and car and house keys, according to police.

Just 20 minutes after he found the empty locker, the victim was notified that someone tried to buy something worth $2,500 at the Pentagon City Fashion Center. That payment was declined, and the suspect then used another credit card, which went through. The suspect then used another card to make a $1,900 purchase at an Apple Store, and then tried to spend more than $800 at a Footlocker store, but that payment was declined.

The suspect checked into OneLife Fitness using the name David Thomas, which was also the name the suspect gave to Footlocker employees, according to police.

Police secured warrants for the suspect on December 15, 2020, which is more than a year after the incident. Using phone records, police determined that the suspect made outgoing calls from the gym as well as in Pentagon City, and that the suspect also made multiple calls to his mother.

Police have made contact with the suspect three times via phone, but he “was not compliant with the option to turn himself in for the warrants,” according to a search warrant affidavit. “The whereabout of (the suspect) are unknown at this time.”

The most recent contact was made with the suspect last month, according to a search warrant affidavit.