Man previously cited for hiding under woman's car arrested in Arizona | Crime Files
GILBERT, Ariz. - Police in Gilbert have arrested a 28-year-old man following an incident where he was seen crawling under the SUVs of women who were vacuuming their cars at a car wash.
Here are the details of what allegedly happened.
Who's the suspect?
Jesse Michael Johnson (Courtesy: MCSO)
Investigators identified the suspect as 28-year-old Jesse Michael Johnson.
In the court documents, investigators said Johnson has been "arrested numerous times" for similar offenses. A story from June 2016 on FOX 10 sister station WFLD-TV in Chicago's website states that Johnson, who was 20 at the time, was cited by police for allegedly hiding under a woman's car so he could touch her feet.
The article noted that it was the fourth time that year that Johnson was cited for such behavior.
What happened?
Gilbert Police say that on Aug. 29, their officers investigated three separate incidents of a man who was seen crawling under the SUVs of women who were vacuuming their cars at a Super Star Car Wash near Riggs Road and Val Vista Drive.
"In these three incidents, defendant pulled into a parking spot next to the victim," investigators wrote. "While each victim was vacuuming her vehicle, defendant hid under her SUV and spent several minutes under her vehicle. The defendant climbed out from under the vehicle when each victim was finishing her vacuuming and left the area."
Police say because Johnson's actions under the vehicles were not known during an early point of the investigation, the victims had to take their cars for an inspection for "possible damage or the possibility of the defendant placing a tracking device on her vehicle."
Investigators also said all three victims described the event as "very unsettling," and one victim reportedly experienced nightmares since the incident.
Court documents state that Johnson was arrested in the area of Emmett and Riggs Road on the afternoon of Sept. 24.
What is the suspect accused of?
The suspect is accused of the following:
- Three counts of voyeurism (A.R.S. 13-1424)
- Three counts of disorderly conduct (A.R.S. 13-2904A1)
A judge has set a bond of $10,000 for Johnson. If he's released, he will have to wear an ankle monitor.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
‘He was just lying there watching them’
Super Star Car Wash employee Keith Baker was concerned when a female customer asked for the cameras to be viewed. She was sure someone was under her car while she was vacuuming.
He viewed the security footage and what she reported, he says, happened. Johnson reportedly has a membership at the car wash.
"Sure enough, going through the video footage, I watched that happen. She was already in the process of calling the cops," he said.
Employees were able to partially read his license plate and keep a look-out just in case Johnson returned.
"There's no way he's coming back for a third time," Baker said.
He walks us through what he sees in the surveillance footage.
"He keeps walking back and forth, and you'll see him do that. He's watching to see what she's doing," he said. "When we talk to her, she's in the backseat vacuuming her car on that driver's side, and he slips up underneath that front tire."
He continues, "He was out underneath the vehicle for about five to six minutes, I want to say. Then, he slips out and goes to this back passenger tire and is like trying to fiddle with it, making it seem like he's there the entire time."
It’s something Johnson has done many times before. In 2016, Johnson told Nebraska law enforcement "he is sexually attracted to women's feet and at times can't control his sexual desires regarding this."
"Any time we looked at him under the vehicle, he was just lying there watching them," Baker said.
It left the employees speechless.
"I don't have any words, to be honest," Baker said. "I don't know what to say about it. It's crazy to me."
Employees say they watched Johnson pull around the corner and wait for his victims – all three of them women.