An Emmy Award-winning journalist with a creepy stare has been arrested for allegedly filming people undressing at an Oklahoma City television station.
Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, a photojournalist at KWTV, also known as News 9, appeared disheveled and bug-eyed as he was taken into custody on Tuesday on a criminal complaint claiming he used photo or video equipment in a clandestine manner in a private place.
He has not yet been formally charged with any wrongdoing. But court documents obtained by The Oklahoman detail how Vannostran allegedly hid two work cameras inside a dressing room at the downtown news station.
Those cameras were later found to be recording, and police said they found cached images from the videos on Vannostran's personal cellphone.
'These images depict the same dressing rooms from the same viewing angle with subjects in various stages of undress,' a police investigator wrote in an affidavit.
An investigation into the alleged invasion of privacy began on March 24, when police received a call from Griffin Media, the owner of KWTV, saying janitorial staff found two hidden cameras inside a dressing room at the downtown news station.
Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, a photojournalist at KWTV, also known as News 9, appeared disheveled and bug-eyed as he was taken into custody on Tuesday
A criminal complaint claims he installed hidden cameras in the dressing rooms of the Oklahoma City news station (pictured)
'The cameras and battery packs had been found mounted to adhesive Velcro strips underneath clothing racks within the room,' an investigator wrote.
'A review of the extracted video footage confirmed the cameras had been active and had recorded multiple subjects who used the dressing room areas in private settings.'
Police were ultimately able to identify a suspect by comparing the station's door scan logs with times the cameras were accessed by another device or repositioned.
They then found that Vannostran had been in the building even when he was not scheduled to work, entering the building and staying less than 45 minutes, when the cameras were found to be repositioned, according to KFOR.
He also allegedly made connections to the hidden cameras within the time frames under investigation.
Police ultimately made contact with Vannostran at the news station on April 2, at which he allegedly acknowledged he was aware of the hidden cameras.
He also reportedly told police he worked with the type of equipment that had been recovered, and had access to the devices as the supervisor of the company's photography and videography department.
An affidavit claims Vannostran told police he worked with the type of equipment that had been recovered, and had access to the devices as the supervisor of the company's photography and videography department
But when Vannostran was then informed he is a suspect in the case, he 'exercised his right to an attorney,' according to court documents.
It remains unclear whether Vannostran was fired or if he quit his position.
In a statement to The Oklahoman, Griffin Media Vice President of Marketing Houston Hunt just said that the company is aware of Vannostran's arrest.
'Our priority is the safety and privacy of our employees,' Hunt said, noting: 'When the devices were discovered, we immediately contacted the police and have been cooperating fully with their investigation.'
'We are very appreciative of the dedicated, hard work by the members of the Oklahoma City Police Department,' Hunt continued.
But, he added, 'because this is a personnel matter, we can't comment further.'
In the meantime, Vannostran remains behind bars, with his bond set at $25,000.