The man has been accused of installing cameras under a shelf in a Starbucks bathroom, until it was found by a woman who called police.
Authorities in California have placed a man under arrested after a woman using a Starbucks restroom noticed a small camera hidden under a shelf.
Melcher Carrilloalvarado, 44, of La Habra was arrested by Brea police after being interviewed when he came in to talk to investigators when the story blew up in the media, according to a Fox News report.
Police believe there have been at least seven adult victims based on the video footage.
The device was discovered by a woman who was using the bathroom, noticing a small camera about the size of a large pen mounted under a shelf.
Carrilloalvarado was immediately a suspect, as he was seeing loitering near the area of the Starbucks bathroom before the camera was eventually discovered.
Carrilloalvarado was charged with seven misdemeanor counts, although those could be upgraded to a felony if any minors are involved. He was released on his own recognizance, with a notice to appear in court.
It hasn’t been the only such incident at a California Starbucks. Earlier this summer, a mother’s 5-year-old son noticed a hidden camera tucked under a sink in a women’s restroom at a Starbucks in Lancaster. She wouldn’t have seen it were it not for her son, who was eye level with the device. She found him examining the sink strangely, and after asking him what was wrong, he asked why there was a phone under it, according to an SFGate.com report.
The mother notified Starbucks employees, and they called the police. Police found the cell phone was running a video recorder, and they seized the phone. They were reviewing footage of surveillance video to figure out who placed it. Starbucks said in a statement it was “disturbed” by the incident.