Employees suspected in gym break-in

Gimbel Gym was burglarized last Friday in what police believe may have been an inside job. According to Penn Police, the suspects took a laptop computer and about 50 paychecks from the recreation business manager's office, located inside the gymnasium at 37th and Walnut streets. University Police detectives said they believe the perpetrators may be Gimbel employees. According to Det. Leslie Hand, the suspects allegedly gained entrance by smashing a window and climbing into the office. Hand said she spoke to a Gimbel employee who claimed to have heard a colleague making plans last Wednesday to burglarize the gym when it closed for Thanksgiving break. Police were alerted to the incident when they received an anonymous call made from a blue-light phone reporting the broken window in Gimbel at 4:11 p.m. on Friday. A little after 7 p.m., police were still collecting evidence at the gym when they received a phone call from an employee of a check-cashing agency on 62nd Street and Woodland Avenue. "There was an individual out in West Philadelphia trying to cash the checks," Det. Supervisor William Danks said. "Someone was cashing the checks almost before we knew there had been a burglary." The check-cashing agency employee had called Gimbel to verify the information of 30-year-old Roy Lee Weatherbe, who was in the agency attempting to cash the stolen checks. While University Police were investigating the crime scene, they happened to answer the check-cashing agency employee's call. They sent two officers to question Weatherbe. The agency employee had become suspicious after noticing that none of the checks were made out to Weatherbe. Weatherbe -- who is not affiliated with the University -- admitted to knowing one of three Gimbel employees suspected of committing the burglary. Police are currently seeking a warrant for Weatherbe's arrest. Penn Police are also in the process of questioning the three employees, whose names were not released. But Hand said that gathering enough evidence to arrest the suspects might be difficult. "We can't arrest them unless Weatherbe gives up some information when he's arrested or we find physical evidence at the scene," Hand said. Gimbel has surveillance cameras, but not in the office where the break-in occurred. Since there is no videotape of the crime, the main physical evidence would have to come from fingerprints. Recreation Business Manager Stephanie Knox declined to comment and Michael Diorka, director of the Recreation Sports Program and Service, did not return repeated phone calls.