Suspect identified, arrest made in Family Dollar ‘upskirting’ video voyeurism case
You might think that the demeaning criminal phenomenon known as upskirting would have run its course by now in a civilized society – until the latest case between a clueless cellphone voyeur and his female victim occurred and resulted in a physical confrontation between the victim and the criminal. This latest incident went down at a Family Dollar Store located at 8076 W. McNab Road in Tamarac, Florida.
Thankfully, on January 11, the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) announced the identification and arrest of the upskirter. One day earlier, the agency had released a surveillance video of the despicable crime that occurred inside the Family Dollar on Saturday, December 11, 2022, in the hopes of identifying the suspect. The victim is an adult woman whose name has been withheld per Marsy’s Law.
Just hours after the Broward Sheriff’s Office released video showing a man placing a cell phone under a North Lauderdale Family Dollar shopper’s dress, deputies were able to track down Lewis Phillips. ~ WFLA News
The woman was shopping at the Family Dollar when she noticed a man wearing a white t-shirt wrapped around his head following her. After the incident, she told detectives that the subject, identified as 27-year-old Lewis Phillips, appeared to be taking pictures and videos of her without her permission. After observing his actions, the victim confronted Phillips and asked him to stop.
Investigators say the female victim then completed her shopping and stood in line to pay for her items when Phillips walked up behind her and placed a cell phone directly underneath her dress. At that moment, the victim tried to grab the phone from Phillips’ hand, and the two struggled for the device.
The white t-shirt wrapped around Phillips’ head fell off during the scuffle. He eventually retrieved his cell phone and walked out of the store. After fleeing from the establishment, Phillips may have thought he got away with committing the crime.
Unfortunately for him, the entire incident was captured on the store’s video surveillance system.
Check out the video the Sheriff’s Office Released to the public.
On Tuesday, January 10, surveillance video of the incident was released to the public; and Phillips was arrested later that evening. Detectives say he was taken into custody at the BSO Main Jail and faces one count of video voyeurism.
Phillips, who is a Tamarac resident, is no stranger to local law enforcement. In addition to his video voyeurism charge, he is also looking now at two probation violation charges: one for aggravated assault with a weapon with no intent to kill and the other for grand theft/sudden snatch without a weapon.
For more on the story, see the video below from CBS 4 Miami accompanying this article.
(Source: BSO)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook. Twitter & Instagram
