Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, Fla. - Hillsborough County deputies arrested Leonardo Marrero Garcia, 47, on charges of loitering and prowling after he allegedly looked through the windows of multiple homes overnight between June and July,
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, detectives began conducting surveillance in the area of Sheldon Road and Crown Blvd in Town ‘N’ Country around midnight in reference to recent reports of a peeping Tom.
At 12:41 a.m. a call was received in the area of Sheldon Rd and Woodlake Blvd about a male peeking into the windows of a home.
Detectives responded to the area and found Marrero Garcia walking in front of a Marathon gas station. They said Garcia was seen walking up to and peeking through the windows of two homes in the area of Waters Ave. and Northbridge Blvd.
According to HCSO, Marrero Garcia matched the description of a suspect involving in several recent Peeping Tom reports in the Town ’N’ Country area.
On July 2, a resident on the 8000 block of Ford Place reported seeing a man on her surveillance camera standing on a large bucket outside of her bedroom window with his hands in his pants, deputies said. The man was seen coming to the home twice during the early morning hours in late June.
Deputies said on Monday, July 27, a resident on the 8000 block of Lochmoor Road reported seeing an unknown Hispanic man touching himself outside her home as well. She recorded him on camera.
On Wednesday, July 29, two residents in the Carefree Village Mobile Home Park on the 8000 block of Sheldon Road reported seeing a man touching himself in their yards, according to HCSO.
Following his arrest, Marrero Garcia identified himself as the person seen on video in the previous incidents, deputies said. Additional charges will follow related to those cases.
“Thankfully, Leonardo Marrero Garcia won’t have any windows to peep through tonight from his room at the Falkenburg Road Jail,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “His actions were a violation of privacy and made several residents feel unsafe in their own homes. I am proud to say that through good detective work, we were able to locate this suspect and hopefully put the minds of his victims at ease as they go to sleep tonight."