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OREM -- Police arrested a woman they say stole money, purses and car keys from a locker room at an Orem gym, then drove the car to the mall and went on a shopping spree with the stolen cards.
Sgt. Craig Martinez of the Orem Police Department says two women had placed their purses in an unlocked locker at the Gold's Gym at 1259 S. 800 East on Monday.
"They both went to the gym together, put both of their purses in the same locker, didn't secure the locker with any type of lock," Martinez said. "They came back to get their purses to find that they were gone. They walked outside to see if they could get their car and, to their surprise, their car was also gone."
A friend decided to drive around nearby parking lots to try to find the stolen car. It had been abandoned at the University Mall across the street.
When the women called to cancel their credit cards, they found out the cards had already been used for several purchases at the mall.
Officers found the stolen purses inside the car of Judy Quintanilla, 32, who was arrested during a traffic stop in Provo. She was booked into jail on charges of theft, auto theft, forgery, eight counts of unlawful use of credit card and possession of stolen property. She's in the Utah County Jail. Her bail has been set at $30,000.
It turns out she does have a history of similar crimes. Detectives are questioning her about other possible thefts.
Police warn that these crimes are usually crimes of opportunity and people need to take simple precautions to protect themselves.
"People tend to think they can leave their belongings unlocked, doors unlocked. It isn't that way anymore," Martinez said. "There are too many people out there looking to victimize everybody."
Martinez said even a locked locker at a gym shouldn't necessarily be considered safe. "If you're going from your home to the gym, leave everything at home, except for maybe your keys and the gym pass and a couple of bucks for a drink, but you don't need to bring your entire purse."
Police don't believe the case is linked to several recent thefts at gyms in the Salt Lake Valley.
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Story compiled with contributions from Marc Giauque and Sam Penrod.
