Napa Fast-Food Employee Recorded Customers In Restroom: Police

NAPA, CA — A Napa man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of invading someone's privacy with a video camera, felony eavesdropping and multiple other charges after a camera was found hidden in the restroom of a local fast-food restaurant, the Napa Police Department said.

Detectives launched an investigation Tuesday afternoon when a member of the public came into the Napa Police Department and turned in a small camera and its memory card. The person was a customer at Wendy's on Trancas Street and told police they found the camera while using the bathroom.

Napa police Detective Dustin Dodd, who is specially trained to forensically process electronic evidence, reviewed the memory card.

"The memory card contained numerous videos of Wendy's employees and customers using the bathroom," Napa police Sgt. Peter Piersig said. "It is apparent the people were unaware of the hidden camera as it focused on people using the toilet."

Police quickly identified the suspect as Arisai Sauceda Benites, a 22-year-old Napa man.

At the start of several videos, Sauceda Benites filmed himself installing the camera, Piersig said. Booking photos of Sauceda Benites from previous arrests were used to confirm it was him, the sergeant said.

Most recently, Sauceda Benites was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery and was released from Napa County jail on his own recognizance.

Detectives went to Wendy's and were told Sauceda Benites no longer worked there. They checked for more cameras but did not find any.

Detectives learned Sauceda Benites was working at other local fast-food restaurants so they checked those businesses but did not find any hidden cameras, Piersig said.

A full forensic analysis of the camera and memory card still needs to be done but Dodd reported that on some of the videos taken between July and August 2019, the camera recorded both audio and visual.

"These hidden recordings were obvious violations of wiretap and illegal video recording laws," Piersig said. "Numerous patrons were shown urinating and defecating in the bathroom, including minor children. One of the girls had a conversation with an adult who was in the bathroom and not depicted in the video. Another patron was a male child was depicted going to the bathroom and his penis was depicted when he cleaned himself afterward."

Wednesday morning, detectives detained Sauceda Benites without incident at his Napa apartment.

There were two children, a 1-year-old and a 12-year-old, in the residence.

It is alleged that in Sauceda Benites' unlocked bedroom, detectives found 27 used glass methamphetamine smoking pipes, suspected methamphetamine and indicia for Sauceda Benites.

"The majority of the used meth pipes were in a bottom drawer that could have been accessed by either child," Piersig said.

Napa County Child Protective Services responded regarding the children endangered by Sauceda Benites' suspected methamphetamine use. Either child, but especially the 1-year-old, would need immediate medical attention if they ingested methamphetamine, Piersig said.

After Sauceda Benites was interviewed by Detective Dodd and a Spanish-speaking detective, he was booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections on suspicion of felony child endangerment, invading someone's privacy with a video camera, possession of suspected methamphetamine and paraphernalia, and felony eavesdropping.

Jail records show his bail was set at $50,000.

Piersig encouraged business owners to make a habit of checking areas such as bathrooms and fitting rooms for illegally installed cameras.