x
Breaking News
More () »

Mom catches neighbor peeping into bedroom window

Adriana Garcia said she had a feeling she was being watched, so she installed night vision cameras in her backyard to prove it.

KATY, Texas — July 7 UPDATE: Charges have now been filed against a Katy man arrested Tuesday after his neighbor reported she caught him peeping in her bedroom window.

Mario Martel, 37, was charged with criminal trespass and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim.


A Katy man was arrested Tuesday after his neighbor reported she caught him peeping in her window early Tuesday morning.

Adriana Garcia is a single mom who said she had a feeling she was being watched after her son found a footprint outside her bedroom window.

“I haven't been sleeping for over a month, just waiting, waiting,” Garcia told KHOU 11.

She installed night vision cameras in her backyard and discovered she was right about being watched. Video shows a barefoot man tip-toeing up to the window and peeking inside.

“I have clear footage where he looks in any way he can and touches himself while looking in through little gaps of both my bedroom windows,” Garcia told KHOU 11.

When her cameras alerted her to activity, she walked outside and confronted the man.

"That's when he started begging. Don't say nothing, don't say anything, please, please. And putting his hands together and ran to his house," Garcia said.

She called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and they arrested the neighbor on trespassing charges.

“He violated my privacy. I'm afraid, no matter how brave I look. Of course, I go through that fear,” Garcia said. “Now I’ll never, if I look at my window, if I hear a noise. What’s going to happen? I mean, he scarred me.”

Garcia is the mother of a 14-year-old boy with autism and she does whatever she can to keep him safe. 

She said her neighbor always gave her the creeps because he always watched them from his porch.

"Well, I always got a creepy feeling from him. I've been watching him while he's been watching me," Garcia said.

Garcia is a licensed and trained gun owner but chose not to shoot him since her life wasn't threatened.

Last week, a Harris County couple, both armed, chased the man they say was peeping into their daughter’s window. After confronting him at a gas station, they say he tried to grab the wife’s gun, so the husband shot him three times.

RELATED: HCSO: Father shoots 'peeping Tom' he found outside child's window

RELATED: HCSO: Charges filed against man shot by father who says he caught him outside daughter's window

Jorge Ramos survived and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and indecency with a child by exposure.

The father who shot him hasn’t been charged.

Garcia has a message for women: Always trust your gut. 

And for the criminals: "Women are fed up with being victims. We're arming ourselves and you better watch out."

Melissa Correa on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Before You Leave, Check This Out