Police say they have arrested a man suspected of robbing multiple yoga studios and other businesses in the District.
Melvin Turner, 48, was arrested Thursday in Northeast and charged in connection to 18 robberies that occurred between April and July of this year -- many of them at yoga studios.
Turner was allegedly spotted on surveillance video taking several hundred dollars from Bikram Hot Yoga in the Ivy City neighborhood.
"It was real money. I mean, he took food right out of the mouths of our children and people who work for us," said Omekongo Dibinga, the owner of the yoga studio. "It was very brazen. Very bold."
D.C. police said Turner had been arrested on July 24, but he failed to show up to get his court-ordered GPS monitoring bracelet. Officers later recognized him in Columbia Heights and arrested him again.
"When we see upticks in crimes, especially in crimes of the nature of these burglaries and these armed robberies, it typically is one person that is responsible for a very large number of crimes," said Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
Some of the burglarized yoga studios have made security changes.
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Dibinga said Turner's arrest means his business can return to focusing on fitness.
"Everything is fixed and, actually, it's better than it was before," Dibinga said.
