Texarkana Man Arrested After Allegedly Taking Video in Gym Shower
Texarkana, Texas Police have arrested a local man for allegedly taking a video of another person in a gym shower.
Authorities have charged 47 year old William Watkins, of Texarkana Texas, for Invasive Visual Recording for the alleged incident on Thursday morning.
Officers were dispatched to a suspicious person call at the Planet Fitness in the 1800 block of Robison Road at 8:20AM Thursday. Officers were met there by a man who told them that, while taking a shower in the gym’s locker room, he briefly opened the curtain to retrieve his soap. As the victim did, he saw a naked man lying on the floor outside the shower stall taking pictures of him with his cell phone. The victim said he immediately got dressed and left to notify a staff member of what had just happened.
Officers went into the locker room to locate the suspect and saw a man matching the description as he went into a dressing stall. After waiting a few minutes, they turned on the shower next to the stall and waited. Authorities say Watkins emerged naked from the stall and started toward the shower with the running water. However, officers said he tried to get back into the stall after he saw them.
Police say Watkins had the cell phone with him that the victim had described to the officers. The individual denied any wrongdoing and allowed the officers to view his photo library on his cell phone. According to police, the most recent entry on the phone was allegedly a twenty-two second video of the victim in the shower that had been covertly recorded. Officers add they also found a picture of another unidentified man sitting in the gym locker room that they also believed was surreptitiously taken.
Watkins was arrested and transported to the Bi-State Jail, where he remains in custody. His bond has been set at $25,000.