Police ask voyeur victims to come forward

Irving — An Irving man has been arrested after violating the privacy of numerous women and police are asking any additional victims to come forward.

Police arrested 19-year-old Makarious Jevonne Bates for allegedly taking inappropriate photos of patrons and employees in businesses throughout the MacArthur Park shopping center and elsewhere.

More than 290 photos and videos from numerous compromising incidents were recovered from Bates’ phone. The police were made aware of Bates in early June after an adult patron with a child and an employee both witnessed Bates taking photos in the women’s restroom of a TJ Maxx. 

According to a written affidavit, the employee stated that she was wearing a dress and she lifted it up to use the toilet when she looked down and saw a male's hand holding a phone under the neighboring stall wall towards her direction. Videos recovered from Bates’ phone show that this was not the only time he used this tactic. Evidence shows Bates recording a female Walmart employee on Forest Lane in Dallas in the same way.

Bates was also fired from a local Kroger for his alleged behavior in similar circumstances. 

Irving police spoke with MacArthur Park security, who said Bates had committed several offenses at the shopping center starting in April. They were able to provide his license plate number to police who then verified Bates’ location at the scene of various incidents using Flock license plate readers. Bates was ultimately arrested on an unrelated charge, and his vehicle was impounded.

Bates was charged on June 26 with multiple counts of invasive visual recording, a state jail felony.  

Police do not yet know how many women or girls may have been recorded and are asking anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Bates to come forward. 

“There are nearly 300 images that are invading someone's privacy, but we haven’t narrowed down exactly how many victims,” Irving Police Officer Maria Herring said. “We understand this can be an embarrassing type of crime and privacy could have been invaded, but at the end of the day, we want to make sure that our victims get justice. 

“If they come and talk to us, we also have services here that we can provide, such as our Family Advocacy Center.”

There is currently no evidence suggesting that Bates shared these photos or videos with others or posted them online. Herring said it is important for local parents to speak with their children and other family members of all ages and make sure they know how to identify if they have been a victim of inappropriate conduct and that it is okay to come forward.

“We're encouraging people to take a look at the mugshot that's on the press release,” she said. “If you believe that you've encountered Makarious Bates in a suspicious way, or if you've encountered him in a store where you thought that maybe he was doing something suspicious, contact the police department.”

Herring said that Bates has since been released from jail. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Detective Stephen Herring at 972-721-2604 or by email at SHerring@IrvingTX.gov. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by email to IPDCrimeTips@IrvingTX.gov.