A man was arrested on suspicion of pointing his camera phone up a woman’s skirt while in line at an AM-PM mini-mart in Panorama City, Los Angeles police announced Monday.
A female witness told the unaware victim, 27, that she saw the man pointing the phone up her skirt while she stood in line, according to a press release from LAPD.
After being alerted by her fellow shopper, the victim took pictures of the suspected peeping Tom’s license plate in the parking lot and reported him to police, authorities said. The incident was also caught on surveillance cameras.
“In most cases, these crimes are never seen and rarely reported,” Lt. Paul Vernon said in the press release. “Thankfully, another customer saw the man.”
Detectives booked Joaquin Cortes Rodriguez, 33, of Monrovia, on a misdemeanor peeping Tom charge after the victim picked his image out of a lineup.
The incident occurred at the AM-PM mini-mart located at Roscoe and Ventura Canyon boulevards on April 3. Rodriguez was arrested on April 12, police said.
He is being held on $50,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s inmate locator website.
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Police placed a federal immigration hold on Rodriguez for being deported and re-entering the country, the press release said.
Vernon, the commanding officer, also had a message for peeping Toms: “Be a gentleman! And ask yourself how would you feel if this happened to your sister or daughter?”
