ST. GEORGE, Utah — A man in southern Utah is facing theft and property damage charges after police say he was seen going into a gym's locker room and stealing multiple items, including a $12,000 Rolex watch.
Braden Cory Beard, 32, was arrested on November 10, but the warrants in the case were recently released.
According to court documents, on October 14 a patron of the Summit Athletic Club reported that their watch had been stolen from a dressing room while they were exercising. The watch was a Rolex brand "Submariner."
The victim told employees that he had placed the watch in a locker while he was exercising. However, when he returned, he found that the lock on the locker was broken and appeared to have been pried open.
The employee helped the victim in trying to get the locker open, and they found that the watch was missing.
Video surveillance was reviewed, and they found that a man with black hair and beard was seen going into the locker room and remaining there for an extended period of time.
Employees identified the man in the video as Braden Beard, who was a frequent patron of the gym.
Management of the gym then reviewed Beard's check-in times for the gym, and they appeared to correlate with other thefts that the gym had suffered. The manager also found an image on social media with Beard holding the stolen watch.
When police talked to Beard, they said he initially denied the allegations but soon admitted to stealing the Rolex and another watch that wasn't reported.
