EVERETT — A personal fitness trainer has been arrested for allegedly selling anabolic steroids to two undercover narcotics detectives.
The Lynnwood man, 44, was a trainer for about a year at 24-Hour Fitness on Evergreen Way. He competed in amateur bodybuilding contests in the area, taking home several awards in the superheavyweight division.
The man has not been charged and was released from the Snohomish County Jail on bond.
The Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force began investigating the trainer after a fitness center employee received an anonymous tip that the man was selling steroids inside the gym, 24-Hour Fitness spokeswoman Allyson Savage said.
According to a search warrant, detectives posed as clients for several months. It was during those workout sessions that police asked about buying steroids.
At one point, a detective heard the suspect order nandrolone deconate, an anabolic steroid, over the phone, according to court documents. The other detective asked the man to get him Methandrostenolone and testosterone.
After a training session, the suspect gave the detective a key to a locker at the gym. Inside the locker were several needles, oral steroids and injectable testosterone, court documents say. Two of the boxes appeared to be from Pakistan and Mexico.
"We don’t know where he was getting the steroids," task force Sgt. Jim Duffy said. "They can be purchased out-of-state or over the Internet. A lot of steroids come from Mexico and Asia."
The second buy happened in early March, detective said. They gave the suspect $1,350 to buy four types of anabolic steroids, and again the suspect left the illegal drugs inside a locker at the gym, court documents say.
Police arrested the suspect after the detective picked up the second batch of drugs, according to the search warrant.
He was found with the money that the detective gave him and nearly $3,000 in cash. He had a list of steroids with names and money amounts next to them. He also had three packs of anabolic steroids, according to court documents.
"We cannot say if he was a user, but we did find steroids on him that were for personal use," Duffy said. "Based on his appearance, we suspect he was using."
After his arrest, the gym fired the man, Savage said. A policy given to all employees and clients clearly outlines that steroids are prohibited at the gym, she said.
"This is the first time we’ve had to respond to something like this," Savage said. "We’re proud of our employees for calling this to our attention."
The task force also commended the gym for responding to the tip.
"We don’t do a lot of steroids cases, but they’re out there," Duffy said. "The task force is not limited to high-profile drugs. If it comes to our attention, we’ll investigate it."
Police don’t believe the suspect was connected to any other gym. They also don’t know if he was selling steroids outside the gym, Duffy said.
Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies arrested another man for investigation of delivering steroids just a few days after the trainer was arrested on March 5. The men had been seen together at the gym, Duffy said. It wasn’t clear if they were working together, he said.
Duffy said it is likely the trainer was able to cultivate users through his work at the gym.
The arrest was a disappointment to the tight-knit bodybuilding community, former bodybuilder Elaine Craig said.
Craig and her husband, Brad, used to own a gym in Marysville and for 22 years they have organized the Emerald Cup, the largest amateur bodybuilding contest in the country. The suspect placed in the competition in 2002.
"I don’t support the use of drugs, and the majority of bodybuilders don’t," she said. "It isn’t done freely, and it isn’t mainstream."
There are people who choose to cross the line, she added.
Craig said she would be hard-pressed to take the trophies from the suspect, since she likely couldn’t prove he was using steroids during the competitions.
Craig said bodybuilders are not routinely tested for drugs since urinalysis tests are expensive to administer. In some competitions, participants must undergo lie-detector tests, she said.
Such events are meant to deter the use of steroids, she said.
"We’ve never had anyone arrested or convicted of steroids use," Craig said. "The majority of us stand for health and fitness."
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
