A suspected prowler was arrested after he crawled into the women’s locker room at Equinox in Glendale through an air vent, police said.

Sometime before 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Manuel Martinez, 27, of North Hollywood allegedly removed a ceiling tile from the roof of the gym and climbed inside, crawling through an 18-inch space toward the women’s locker room, said Glendale Police spokeswoman Tahnee Lightfoot.

Upon hearing noises coming from the ceiling, a woman who was cleaning a stall in the locker room’s restroom looked up to see Martinez removing a ventilation tile and entering the area, she added.

The employee screamed and ran out of the locker room, while Martinez chased her before he was detained by other gym employees.


It’s unclear how long Martinez, who is not a gym member, was allegedly in the ceiling before the woman saw him.

Martinez, who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, was charged Tuesday with one count each of trespassing and prowling, Lightfoot said.

Tchekmedyian writes for Times Community News.