Photo by James Short.
A Philadelphia man is facing more than a dozen felony charges following an investigation into a string of thefts from vehicles at Life Time Athletic in Upper Dublin Township.
Lamont Bryant Jr., 25, was recently arraigned on multiple counts of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, identity theft, forgery, and related offenses, stemming from three alleged thefts that occurred between Feb. 9 and March 11 along the 300 block of Commerce Drive. He is free after posting $10,000 cash bail, court records show.
In total, Bryant is accused of stealing more than $46,000 in cash, property, and purchases made with the victims’ credit cards, police said.
The investigation began during the afternoon of Feb. 9, when police were dispatched to the fitness club for a report of a theft from a vehicle that had occurred the previous day. The victim told police that $200 cash and two credit cards had been stolen from their vehicle, and they had received fraud alerts on their cards indicating attempted purchases were made in King of Prussia and Philadelphia.
Investigators said surveillance footage from the stores showed the suspect attempting to purchase a Playstation 5 and other items, according to the criminal complaint.
Similar thefts were reported on March 2 and March 11, resulting in in the second and third victims losing a combined $2,300 in cash, six credit cards, a Rolex watch, and personal property, police said. And like the first incident, the same suspect was observed on surveillance at the same stores, wearing the same clothes, attempting to buy the same items with the stolen credit cards, the affidavit states.
Officials said they identified Bryant as the suspect after tracing the registration of the vehicle used to make the attempted purchase in Philadelphia, which came back with Bryant’s father as the registered owner. The vehicle also appeared on surveillance footage at the fitness center at the time of two of the thefts, and a person matching Bryant’s appearance was also captured on surveillance outside of the center attempting to open multiple car doors, according to police.
The criminal complaint notes that at the time of two of the alleged thefts, Bryant entered the center and attempted to check in at the front desk, only to be denied access.
Court records show charges against Bryant were filed on April 2, and he was arraigned on April 11. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on May 10 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Douglas Lavenberg.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
