TOPEKA, KAN. – Two Kansas men were indicted Wednesday on charges of robbing a health club where one of them used to work, according to U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Lesley Jamar Terrell, Jr., 33, Topeka, Kan., and George Bernard Phelps, III, 31, Topeka, Kan., are charged with one count of robbery. The indictment alleges that on Nov. 24, 2017, the two defendants robbed the Genesis Health Club at 2909 Southwest 37th Street in Topeka.

A criminal complaint in the case alleges that a Genesis employee came upon the two defendants in the lobby of the business while they attempted to pry open a box used for money deposits by members of the club. One of the defendants told the employee the robbers did not want trouble and instructed him to wait in an adjacent room. The defendant stood in the doorway of the room with his hand in the waistband of his pants. The defendants removed cash and checks from the box and then fled.

When police arrived, the employee told them one of the robbers resembled a former employee of the business. Investigators identified Terrell as a prior employee of the business who worked as an overnight maintenance worker.