Experts say hidden cameras are harder and harder to detect because of how small they’ve gotten.
ROSENBERG, Texas — A combination cellphone and computer repair shop/pizza parlor on 1st Street is covered in cameras. But a hidden camera in the restroom is what Rosenberg police said led to the arrest of 41-year-old owner Umair Ali on Wednesday.
“It’s very shocking,” neighboring smoke shop owner Rome Mirza said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Mirza has known Ali for years.
“He’s a really good person,” Mirza said. “I’m not sure, like, how this even happened.”
According to police, they found a hidden camera in the restroom ceiling after a female customer reported it.
Right now, there’s no word on how long police think the camera may have been there or if anything may have been downloaded or saved from it.
“It is illegal, in a public space, to hide a camera in a private part of that, such as a bathroom,” said “High-Tech Texan” Michael Garfield.
Garfield said it’s also challenging to detect hidden cameras, even with detection devices, given how small they’ve gotten.
“Nowadays, they’re mostly wireless, and they can be any size,” Garfield said. “You know, from the size of your fist to about the size even as small as the head of a screw.”
Ali was charged with attempted invasive visual recording.
We’re told he posted a $30,000 bond following his arrest, which came as such a disappointment to some.
“I know him, and my community doesn’t support stuff like that,” Mirza said. “So, if this is a real thing, then, you know, I would just say, I don’t want to have anything to do with someone like that.”
Police said this remains an open investigation and are asking anyone with additional information or concerns to come forward.
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