Man Arrested for Filming Boy Under Bathroom Stall

On December 2, 2021, just before 5:00 p.m., a young boy used the public restroom at a local convenience store, located in the 1900 block of E. Southern Ave Mesa, AZ. While using the restroom, the boy noticed a cell phone propped up against the toilet in the stall next to him.  The cell phone was positioned towards the boy’s bathroom stall and appeared to be recording him using the bathroom.

With clever thinking, the boy made a video recording on his cell phone of what he was seeing. When he left the bathroom stall, he made another video recording of the person in the adjoining stall picking up the cell phone.

The boy waited for the person to leave the bathroom and recorded their description and license plate, supplying this information to Mesa Police Officers. 

Officers used the license plate information provided by the boy to put together a photo line up to include the registered owner’s photograph.  The boy picked out the person who recorded him as the registered owner.

On December 8, 2021, Mesa Police Officers located the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Marvin Barnes, and booked him into jail for the following charge:

ARS 13-1424A; Voyeurism, a class 5 felony.

Without the boy’s smart thinking, it is unknown if the suspect would have ever been located or arrested. Good job to this young victim for thinking outside the box and providing accurate information to assist officers in this case. 

Marvin Barnes Mug Shot