Florida Man Stephen Johnson, 29, of DeBary, was arrested by Volusia deputies after he ran from deputies investigating a peeping tom in the area.
Security cameras in the Rivington subdivision in DeBary caught video of a man on several occasions peeping into the same window of a home in the neighborhood and then running away when he got spooked, or motion lights turned on.
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Neighborhood residents have been on edge for the last few weeks as a peeping tom has been making the rounds. One of the victims told 911 dispatch, “My neighbors just reported that somebody came up to my window and was looking in the window.”
After repeated calls to the sheriff’s office from residents, a patrol Sgt. with the Volusia County sheriff’s office was conducting an extra patrol of the neighborhood and hit the jackpot when he spotted a man walking through the area. The whole chase and capture were caught on his body cam.
The good Sgt was positioned on a front porch in the subdivision conducting surveillance for the peeper when he saw a man wearing tennis shoes and what appeared to be pajama bottoms walk out from between two homes in the subdivision; that is what’s called a clue. The Sgt spoke to the man, later identified as Johnson, stating, “What’s up man, where you coming from?” Johnson walked a little further, and the Sgt. asked, “Where do you stay.” Johnson walked a bit further and started looking around. That is another clue as Johnson is looking for an escape route. The Sgt. ordered Johnson to “stop… right now!” and the foot pursuit was on. Johnson ran further down the sidewalk and went into the brush and the swamp.
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More deputies arrived to set up a cordon to keep him from getting out of the area, and one was equipped with a drone. After an aerial search of the site with the drone, Johnson was found hiding in the water deep in the swampy area. Deputies ordered him out of the water, and he finally complied, the sheriff’s office said.
After Johnson was handcuffed, he confessed to deputies that he was prowling around the neighborhood. He told the deputies he had urges to do so. While Johnson was being questioned about his alleged prowling, one of the deputies is heard on the bodycam telling him, “That’s weird, man. It makes people uneasy.”
Deputies previously responded to the neighborhood last weekend when a resident reported that her neighbor’s camera caught an unknown male suspect peeping into her window on three occasions.
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The sheriff’s office said Johnson, who lives in the same neighborhood, about a 5-minute walk from the victim’s home, admitted to peeping into windows and stated he had uncontrollable urges to do so.
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