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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Four people are accused of breaking into gym lockers at several Winnipeg-area fitness centres between March 12 and 18 including this Planet Fitness location on Meadowood Drive in St. Vital.<\/p>\n
The thieves pretended they were interested in joining the gyms to gain access to secured locker areas in change rooms. Some of the lockers were locked and some were not, McKinnon said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The suspects) were using some sophisticated mechanisms. They were actually breaching the locks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Surveillance video helped the Winnipeg Police Service\u2019s property crime unit to identify suspects. Investigators are exploring whether the group is responsible for additional incidents.<\/p>\n
They broke into lockers at Altea Winnipeg on South Town Road in Bridgwater; GoodLife Fitness on Newmarket Boulevard in the Refinery District; GoodLife Fitness on Main Street downtown; and Planet Fitness on Meadowood Drive in St. Vital between March 12 and 18.<\/p>\n
The GoodLife gym on Newmarket Boulevard and the Planet Fitness gym were each targeted twice. In one case, a Planet Fitness customer\u2019s stolen credit cards were used to make about $4,000 in purchases.<\/p>\n
Becky Zirlen, a spokeswoman for U.S.-based Planet Fitness, said the local franchise owner is working with police in their investigation.<\/p>\n
GoodLife spokeswoman Heather Smith said no one from the London, Ont.-based company was available for an interview. Altea Winnipeg\u2019s management did not respond to a message seeking comment.<\/p>\n
Outside Planet Fitness, several gym members told the Free Press they weren\u2019t aware of the thefts.<\/p>\n
They said some members do not use locks when they leave their belongings in lockers in private change rooms. A bank of smaller lockers with built-in locks is located near the front desk.<\/p>\n
Most said they bring few valuables or they take their wallet, keys and cellphone with them to workout areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very unfortunate that it happened to those folks,\u201d said Ugonna Chigbo. \u201cI\u2019m uneasy leaving my valuables in (lockers).\u201d<\/p>\n
Kida Whitton was alarmed after learning about the thefts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try not to bring things that are too valuable because I know (theft) is a possibility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Derek Ethier was disappointed the gym was targeted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter where you go, there\u2019s something going on,\u201d he said about crime.<\/p>\n
In an unrelated case, Brent Ziemski, who attends a different gym, said he was working out April 9 when someone broke in to his locker and stole his bag. He said he filed a police report, and he wasn\u2019t aware of any arrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I went back (to the locker-room), I said, \u2018Holy crap, my lock\u2019s gone.\u2019 Everything was gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The bag contained Ziemski\u2019s wallet, cash, a debit card that he immediately cancelled, keys, a weightlifting belt and a ring he received after winning the Mr. Manitoba overall title at a Manitoba Amateur Bodybuilding Association competition in 1999.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was pretty disappointing that the ring went missing,\u201d he said. \u201cOut of everything in there, I would like that ring back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ziemski had to replace the debit card, health card and, for a $10 fee, driver\u2019s licence that were in his wallet. He said he paid $120 for a new car key and $75 for a new garage key fob.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel violated. The whole thing is just an inconvenience,\u201d said Ziemski, who was worried afterward because the thief or thieves had his name and address.<\/p>\n
He said the caretaker of the complex where he lives changed the unit\u2019s locks as a courtesy.<\/p>\n
Some gyms provide lockers in open areas, near fitness equipment, to try to prevent theft, Ziemski noted.<\/p>\n
McKinnon suggested gyms offer small lockers, each with a unique numerical code set by the user, in staffed areas for members to leave wallets, phones, keys or other valuables.<\/p>\n
She said some gyms use security measures such as key card access or turnstiles.<\/p>\n
If users take bank cards, keys or valuables to the gym, McKinnon suggested they carry the items with them in a small bag or hipsack while working out.<\/p>\n
Police warned about gym locker thefts in February and June 2025, after an uptick in incidents. In some of those incidents, thieves stole keys and drove off in victims\u2019 vehicles.<\/p>\n
The problem is not unique to Winnipeg. Police in cities across Canada have reported locker break-ins or thefts in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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Some fitness centres have policies that state they are not responsible for theft of personal property, and members who leave valuables in lockers do so at their own risk.<\/p>\n
Police, meanwhile, said the four accused in the locker break-ins in March were arrested in the 600 block of St. Anne\u2019s Road and outside a South Pointe home April 23 and 28. Three were together despite an Ontario court order.<\/p>\n
Bogdan Todica, 40, Gabriel Bogdan Ionescu, 39, Livia Ramona Cozma, 41, and Orlando-Constantin Vaduva, 52, were charged with various offences. They were held in custody.<\/p>\n
Police ask anyone with information to call investigators at 204-986-2426 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-TIPS (8477).<\/p>\n
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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