Texas men charged in Elmhurst health club thefts

Two Houston men have been charged with breaking into lockers at an Elmhurst health club and stealing credit cards that police said they later used to purchase gift cards.

Bail was set at $100,000 each for Azeez A. Aweda, 31, of Westheimer Road, and Tasiu A. Jimoh, 31, of Bellaire Road. Jimoh and Aweda each have been charged with two counts of burglary and one count of identity theft. In addition, Jimoh has been charged with one count of possession of burglary tools.

Elmhurst police responded to a call Wednesday at LA Fitness on York Road regarding a report of offenders breaking into a locker.

The victim reported that his car keys were stolen from his locker and that his car, which was parked in the LA Fitness lot, was burglarized with three credit cards taken.

Prosecutors said the men entered the club around 1:30 p.m. and broke into the victim's locker, stealing his car keys and burglarizing his car.

Aweda and Jimoh then used the stolen credit cards to purchase gift cards from the Elmhurst Mariano's in the amount of $3,045, authorities said.

The two were arrested Thursday at a area hotel where they were found to in possession of $47,125 worth of gift cards, authorities said. Jimoh also is accused of having bolt cutters capable of breaking into locked lockers.

"When members of the public are in a facility that requires them to lock their valuables, they have every right to expect that their valuables will be there when they return," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement.

"It is alleged that by whatever means, these two defendants gained access to a restricted area of a health club where they never should have been, broke into a locked locker and helped themselves to whatever they could find."

Aweda's next court appearance is scheduled for July 23, and Jimoh's is scheduled for July 16. Both men are scheduled to be arraigned at their next court appearance.

Jimoh has posted bail and been released from custody. Aweda remains in custody at the DuPage County jail.