An Arabela man faces three felony counts of voyeurism, 30 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism and one count of tampering with evidence stemming from videos he secretly shot in Ruidoso Saturday, July 18.

Donathan York, 28, turned himself in at the Ruidoso Police Department Monday after Magistrate Judge William Butts issued a warrant for his arrest.

York was apprehended at the Ruidoso Municipal Swimming Pool Saturday, after a vacationing Texas FBI Agent's daughter reportedly told her father a man was following her too closely going up the water slide stairs. The father and his brother-in-law reportedly began watching the man, later identified as York, and became concerned by his actions with his camera.

According to his statement to police, the FBI Agent approached York on the stairs of the water slide and asked him what he was doing. He said York became nervous and started backing down the stairs. Then he ran.

The agent yelled for a lifeguard to stop him and he and the lifeguard pursued the man from the swimming pool. The agent said the lifeguard pursued York to the right of the Ruidoso Senior Center while he went to the left of the building.

On the other side of the building the man surrendered.

Ruidoso Police Officer Aaron Frost arrived to find, according to his report, two men standing and one sitting at the entrance to the Senior Center. Frost reported that the memory card slot of the Nikon Cool Pix camera was empty and York denied having a memory card.

Officer Chris Weaver questioned a group having a picnic in Schoolhouse Park, between the pool and senior center. One witness reported seeing York fall in the grass in the park and remembered seeing him apparently toss something into the grass.

The witness was able to walk to the area and find the memory card. When confronted with the card, York reportedly admitted to Frost that it was his.

With no procedure to review the contents of the card in the field, York was released.

At Ruidoso Police Department, the contents of the memory card revealed York attaching and concealing the camera to his shoe and taking videos up the skirts and dresses of females in Midtown.

The video also reportedly showed York's face at least twice as he affixed the camera to his shoe.

York, according to the report, had visited 11 Mid-town locations, including women's apparel stores, with the camera attached to his shoe and made videos of women.

The final part of the video reportedly showed York following and video taping up close and intimately two 12 year-old girls as they ascended the stairs at the swimming pool water slide. This is a felony.

Butts set York's bond at $150,000, which he was unable to post. He was transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.

"Parents need to always be aware of what is going on with and around their children," Ruidoso Police Chief Wolfgang Born said. "It is also important to listen to them when they tell you something. This father listened to his daughter and it led to the apprehension."

Born said even in a small town like Ruidoso everyone should be aware of their surroundings.

"It was good police work by Frost and Weaver to get a reluctant witness to cooperate and retrieve the memory card from the camera," Born said.

Personally I think it was "good POLICE work"
of my 2 12yr-old nieces, who had the
brains, the guts, and understood the spirit
prompting them to tell their parents.

I think it was "amazing POLICE work"
of my brother-in-law the FBI agent and
my brother to sit back and watch the
perv before pouncing on him to question
his tactics, and then to chase him!!

And I think it was "great POLICE work"
of my sister to shout at the top of her lungs
"grab him, grab him" while on lookers gawked at the
crazy lady, not understanding the situation.

I am so proud of my family.
And yet still secretly happy I didn't have to
endure the situation and all it's drama.
(sorry, love ya)

Hopefully we have done our part by showing our support to them
while going through this awful experience.
Larry has answered a few inquires trying to explain
the justice system and how in the HECK
this trouble-maker is got the option of a bond.

All in all, it has really opened my eyes to the
CRAZIES
we have on this earth.

(Larry is probably laughing right now, after reading that line,
and thinking something like..."oh honey, just come with me to work")


***vo⋅yeur⋅ism –noun; the practice of obtaining sexual gratification by looking at sexual objects or acts, esp. secretively.***