Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The case of the rotten gym rat

Suspect allegedly broke into lockers in the early morning

Julius Anthony Keeler, 31, pleads not guilty. Photo by Eva
Julius Anthony Keeler, 31, pleads not guilty. Photo by Eva

Deputies arrested a repeat felon who broke into lockers at a series of LA Fitness gyms around North County San Diego last spring, it was alleged in court on February 3.

A woman named Meggan spoke to deputies after a gym member at the LA Fitness in San Marcos reported his wallet, wedding ring, and other items stolen from his locker. Meggan told deputies she had worked at that same gym for five years, and when she went down the list of persons who had checked in that morning, she did not recognize the photo ID of one person, named Julius Keeler.

Meggan told deputies she noticed that same gym member, Julius Keeler, had checked into another LA Fitness, the one located in Encinitas, at 5:30 a.m. that same morning. The same day, May 28, 2014, the same man checked into the LA Fitness in San Marcos at about 6:30 a.m. The alert employee phoned the other gym and was informed that two lockers had been broken into the same morning, after Keeler checked in.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Deputy Anthony Mirelas

Sheriff’s deputy Anthony Mirelas said that he spoke with Meggan and then looked up the latest booking photo of 31-year-old Julius Anthony Keeler. The gym member who reported his wallet stolen said his credit card company contacted him to inquire about unusual activity on his card at a Walgreens in Escondido.

Deputy Mirelas went to the Walgreens on East Valley Parkway and spoke with a clerk who described the man who had used the stolen credit card. She did pick Julius Anthony Keeler out of a photo lineup and said the man purchased hundreds of dollars’ worth of items, including a VISA Vanilla $300 gift card.

The deputy reviewed the store’s surveillance video and identified a suspect who had arrived in a black, two-door Infinity with no license plates.

With a tip that his suspect had a girlfriend who lived on North Cedar Street in Escondido, deputy Mirelas went there and found the same black Infinity car with no license plates in the driveway. He said the suspect was standing in front of the house, and the key to the car was in his pocket when Keeler was arrested.

Detective Kurt Cartie
Prosecutor Nicolette Cassidy

The month before, on April 18, 2014, a man had reported his wallet stolen from his locker at the LA Fitness on Dove Canyon Road in 4S Ranch. Sheriff’s detective Kurt Cartie said that victim’s credit card was used the same afternoon at a CVS store in Rancho Bernardo to purchase hundreds of dollars’ worth of items, including a VISA Vanilla gift card and a Mother’s Day card. That store’s surveillance video showed Keeler using the stolen credit card, according to detective Cartie.

Judge K. Michael Kirkman ordered Keeler to answer five felonies. Keeler pleads not guilty to all charges and is expected back in court on April 20 to set a date for trial. Keeler is currently at liberty, having posted $50,000 bail.

Prosecutor Nicolette Cassidy alleges that Keeler has three prison priors out of San Diego County plus one strike prior in Riverside County. Keeler’s alleged criminal record began when he was 18 years old, starting with a robbery, then two burglaries, and then one felony for evading officers with wanton disregard for public safety.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Secrets of Resilience in May's Unforgettable Memoir

Julius Anthony Keeler, 31, pleads not guilty. Photo by Eva
Julius Anthony Keeler, 31, pleads not guilty. Photo by Eva

Deputies arrested a repeat felon who broke into lockers at a series of LA Fitness gyms around North County San Diego last spring, it was alleged in court on February 3.

A woman named Meggan spoke to deputies after a gym member at the LA Fitness in San Marcos reported his wallet, wedding ring, and other items stolen from his locker. Meggan told deputies she had worked at that same gym for five years, and when she went down the list of persons who had checked in that morning, she did not recognize the photo ID of one person, named Julius Keeler.

Meggan told deputies she noticed that same gym member, Julius Keeler, had checked into another LA Fitness, the one located in Encinitas, at 5:30 a.m. that same morning. The same day, May 28, 2014, the same man checked into the LA Fitness in San Marcos at about 6:30 a.m. The alert employee phoned the other gym and was informed that two lockers had been broken into the same morning, after Keeler checked in.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Deputy Anthony Mirelas

Sheriff’s deputy Anthony Mirelas said that he spoke with Meggan and then looked up the latest booking photo of 31-year-old Julius Anthony Keeler. The gym member who reported his wallet stolen said his credit card company contacted him to inquire about unusual activity on his card at a Walgreens in Escondido.

Deputy Mirelas went to the Walgreens on East Valley Parkway and spoke with a clerk who described the man who had used the stolen credit card. She did pick Julius Anthony Keeler out of a photo lineup and said the man purchased hundreds of dollars’ worth of items, including a VISA Vanilla $300 gift card.

The deputy reviewed the store’s surveillance video and identified a suspect who had arrived in a black, two-door Infinity with no license plates.

With a tip that his suspect had a girlfriend who lived on North Cedar Street in Escondido, deputy Mirelas went there and found the same black Infinity car with no license plates in the driveway. He said the suspect was standing in front of the house, and the key to the car was in his pocket when Keeler was arrested.

Detective Kurt Cartie
Prosecutor Nicolette Cassidy

The month before, on April 18, 2014, a man had reported his wallet stolen from his locker at the LA Fitness on Dove Canyon Road in 4S Ranch. Sheriff’s detective Kurt Cartie said that victim’s credit card was used the same afternoon at a CVS store in Rancho Bernardo to purchase hundreds of dollars’ worth of items, including a VISA Vanilla gift card and a Mother’s Day card. That store’s surveillance video showed Keeler using the stolen credit card, according to detective Cartie.

Judge K. Michael Kirkman ordered Keeler to answer five felonies. Keeler pleads not guilty to all charges and is expected back in court on April 20 to set a date for trial. Keeler is currently at liberty, having posted $50,000 bail.

Prosecutor Nicolette Cassidy alleges that Keeler has three prison priors out of San Diego County plus one strike prior in Riverside County. Keeler’s alleged criminal record began when he was 18 years old, starting with a robbery, then two burglaries, and then one felony for evading officers with wanton disregard for public safety.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego beaches not that nice to dogs

Bacteria and seawater itself not that great
Next Article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader