SANTA CRUZ (BCN) — Police arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of videotaping and photographing women from outside of their homes after he turned himself in to police and tried to explain why he was entering a woman’s house at night, police said.
On Tuesday, a 19-year-old student at the University of California at Santa Cruz called police around 9 p.m. to report that a man had tried to enter her house, located in the 100 block of Palo Verde Terrace.
She told police she saw the man looking at her through a window and then watched as he tried to open the window and make his way inside, police said.
The woman was alone at the time and police said the suspect had removed some wooden boards from a fence that secures the patio area.
The woman began to scream and pointed a flashlight at the suspect, police said.
Undeterred, police said the man continued to make his way into the house through the window but the victim ran outside and confronted him.
The woman took several photos of the man with her phone, which she then shared with police.
Two days later, on Thursday around 4 p.m., police said the man came into the station and identified himself as the suspect in Tuesday’s case but came in with a different story of the course of events.
After a long interview, police said Timothy Maness, 28, of Felton, did admit to the offenses, as well as other incidents in recent months.
Police said Maness enjoyed video recording and photographing women from outside their residences. Santa Cruz Lt. Bernie Escalante said police believe the offenses all occurred within the same general area.
Police arrested Maness on suspicion of burglary, stalking, videotaping people while peeping, and peeping at women.
He was booked in the Santa Cruz County Jail.
Police are encouraging other potential victims to contact Santa Cruz police at (831) 420-5820.