AZ Central – by Amanda Goodman
AVONDALE, Ariz. — A Goodyear police officer pleaded not guilty on Monday morning after he was accused of recording 21 women as they undressed at an Avondale tanning salon.
Jeffrey Allen Streeter, 44, was booked in October on 31 felony counts of surreptitious recording and one felony count of tampering with physical evidence.
Police began investigating on Oct. 15 after a 20-year-old woman reported that she was videotaped without her consent while undressing at a tanning salon in the area of Dysart Road and Rancho Santa Fe Boulevard.
The woman said she saw an object appearing to be a camera phone resting on top of the wall that separated her room from an adjacent room.
When confronted by the salon manager, Streeter, a regular customer, said the woman must have seen his gun when he placed it on top of the wall, according to court documents.
Police say it is not reasonable that Streeter would place his firearm on top of the 8-foot wall when there was an 18-inch high corner shelf available for his personal belongings.
Police seized Streeter’s city-issued and personal cellphones. A forensic examination of his personal phone revealed that Streeter attempted to wipe the contents of the phone minutes before handing it over to police, according to court documents.
Investigators reportedly recovered 23 videos depicting women in tanning rooms in various states of undress, apparently unaware that they were being recorded.
A Goodyear police badge, a Glock handgun, and shoes matching pairs found in Streeter’s apartment are visible in the videos, according to court documents.
Salon owner Tony Gilbert told 3TV in a phone interview that he was mortified and sick to his stomach when he learned of the allegations.
“Our customers are like family. We build solid relationships with our customers. We want them to feel comfortable there and safe there. It’s our No. 1 priority, and he violated that,” Gilbert said.
According to Gilbert, two of the victims immediately canceled their memberships.
He said he plans to increase the height of the partitions and add a curtain inside each room for an extra layer of privacy.
“I hope that, you know, they can get past it and just go on with their lives and make sure that guy pays for what he did,” said one customer named Tiffany.
Streeter was arrested at his apartment without incident and booked into the Avondale City Jail. He was transferred to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for his initial court appearance. His bond was set at $12,000.
He is scheduled to return to court Nov. 5 for a status conference.
Streeter is on unpaid leave. He has been with the Goodyear Police Department for 15 years, according to court documents.
“Those are the ones that we’re supposed to trust and believe in and think that they’re going to do the right things, and they don’t,” Tiffany said.
Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Avondale police at 623-333-7000 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.