Wig-wearing bandit robs unlocked lockers in metro gyms, police say
Click here for updates on this story
ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — Police are looking for a teenager accused of stealing from gym lockers across Metro Atlanta.
Investigators say 17-year-old Tarquinnious Mack was caught on camera going into the Planet Fitness gym on in the Newton Plaza on Highway 278 in Covington and obtaining a day pass to the gym using a fake name.
The teen is seen on surveillance video wearing a black wig, a back purse, leggings and a t-shirt. Police have learned that he has hit several gyms across Metro Atlanta.
“He’s wearing multiple wigs every time he’s going into these gyms,” said Covington Police Central Intelligence Officer Justin Stott.
On Jan. 6, police say Mack stole a set of keys from inside an unlocked locker inside the Covington Planet Fitness. He is seen on surveillance video walking out of the men’s locker room. Once he got out to the parking lot, police say he used the keys to open a Ford 150 truck and steal a wallet inside. He then went to the Kroger grocery store next door and bought $1,000 worth of gift cards using the stolen credit card. Police say Mack drove off in the stolen truck.
That wallet and truck belonged to Travis Rape who was inside the gym. He told CBS46’s Hayley Mason he usually only takes his keys inside the gym.
“I locked my wallet in the truck that night, and I’ve always done that anytime I go to the gym so that I’m not carrying anything important into the gym,” Rape said. “Now, I guess I have to invest in an actual lock for the locker,” Rape added. He said the truck belongs to his employer, a corrosion company. He said it also had his four-year-old son’s belongings inside as well as his military ID’s that were in his wallet.
Police say Mack is wanted for stealing from gyms including Gwinnett, Forsyth, and Cobb Counties and Holly Springs.
“You think you’re safe, you come to the gym, do a little workout and you come out and your truck is gone–that’s sad,” Covington Planet Fitness member Marzilla Harris. “I always bring my lock and I bring everything with me. I lock it up and I make sure it’s secure. I pray that everybody does the same,” she explained.
Police have not located Mack, but are working with other local agencies that are also looking for him for similar crimes. Rape’s vehicle is a 2017 brown Ford F-150 with a Morgan County tag that reads “RJZ2500”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
