Irving Police said a 19-year-old man admitted to recording women in restrooms and dressing rooms at several stores along North MacArthur Boulevard, and investigators are now working to identify additional victims. Makarious Jevonne Bates was arrested June 26 and charged with multiple counts of in vasive visual recording, police said. Investigators said Bates admitted to taking the photos and videos found on his phone. Irving Police said the investigation began after officers were called June 3 about a man photographing and recording women inside a restroom and dressing room at a business in the 7700 block of North MacArthur Boulevard. During the investigation, store employees told police the same unidentified man had done the same thing several times before. According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 5, on June 27, Irving Police were called to a TJ Maxx store on North MacArthur Boulevard, where employees said a man had been taking photos of women in the restroom. Employees told police that a customer and her daughter reported seeing a man taking photos of them in the restroom before he left the store. About 40 minutes later, employees said, the same man returned wearing the same clothes and walked back toward the women’s restroom. An employee went to the women’s restroom and spoke with another employee who was walking out. According to the affidavit, the employee “was bothered by something that occurred and was extremely emotional.” The employee told police she was wearing a dress and using the toilet when she looked down and saw a man’s hand holding a phone under the stall. She said she could see the phone was recording. A loss prevention officer gave police the man’s license plate number and told investigators he had been alleged to have committed several similar offenses at the store on April 12 and June 1, according to the affidavit. Irving investigators said they recovered electronic evidence suggesting there may be additional victims recorded inside stores along North MacArthur Boulevard between Texas 161 and Interstate 635. Police said they used the license plate number to identify Bates as the vehicle’s owner. Investigators also said they compared body camera footage from a traffic stop involving the vehicle’s owner with surveillance video from the store and confirmed the same man appeared in both videos. Makarious Jevonne Bates In the affidavit, police said data from Flock cameras showed that Bates’ vehicle was scanned along MacArthur Boulevard in the area where the offenses were alleged to have occurred. Officers later initiated another traffic stop, arrested Bates on an unrelated offense and impounded his vehicle. Police said Bates’ phone was seized during his arrest and that he gave officers his passcode. After a search warrant was executed, police said forensic teams found more than 290 images and videos of “women walking through department stores, dressing rooms or bathrooms.” Investigators said some of the images contained metadata showing when and where the photos and videos were taken. Police said one video dated June 15 showed an employee using the bathroom at a store on Forest Lane in Dallas. The woman was identified and contacted by police. She told investigators she had no idea she had been recorded using the restroom, identified herself in the video and agreed to press charges. After that interview, police obtained an arrest warrant for Bates on June 25 on an invasive recording charge. On June 26, investigators went to a Kroger store on North MacArthur Boulevard, where Bates was believed to be employed. Officials said they learned Bates had been fired from a different Kroger store, but that he had been “captured on video recording another victim in their bathroom.” That woman gave police a written statement and agreed to press charges. Police said Bates was arrested that afternoon and admitted to recording the photos and videos found on his phone. Bates was charged with multiple counts of invasive visual recording and is free on bond. It’s unclear if he’s obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf. Irving Police ask any shopper who believes they may have encountered Bates or who suspects their privacy may have been invaded to contact Detective S. Herring at 972-721-2604 or [email protected]. Anonymous tips can also be shared at [email protected]. ...read more read less