By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Moore man, who is reportedly a reserve officer in Washington, Ok., has been ordered to appear before a Payne County judge on Aug. 2 when he can ask for a preliminary hearing on a felony charge alleging that he placed a video camera in the bedroom of his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Stillwater at a time when she would have had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Tyler Ruben Ruiz, 32, was arrested in March and released on $20,000 bail on a charge of using electronic equipment for a lewd or lascivious purpose, which carries a maximum penalty of a five-year prison term and $5,000 fine on conviction, court records show.
Stillwater Police Officer Jimmy Knox was sent on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, to the woman’s residence on N. Washington Street regarding “a hidden camera found inside the apartment,” his affidavit alleged.
“When she answered the door, she greeted me with a Ziploc bag containing a black You tech wireless charger with a USB cable and a black wall plug. Inside the wall plug is a small pen camera.
“(She) said her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Ruiz, placed it there last Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020,” the Stillwater officer alleged in his affidavit.
“She said “that she and Ruiz had dated for the last three or four months. He lives in Moore and is a reserve officer for the city of Washington, Ok.
“She said that he stayed with her last Thursday and Saturday night.
“She said they were not getting along because he accused her of cheating on him with someone else.
“After the weekend, she thought they were all good. Until today when she received a break-up text from Ruiz. She asked why and he replied, ‘because of the guy in your house…’
“(She) said she just brushed the comment off,” the affidavit alleged.
“She said that when she spoke to Ruiz on the phone, “he commented on how she let the guy sit on the bed while she did her hair and makeup,” the affidavit alleged.
She said that “she got off the phone and searched her bedroom. She found one new item in her bedroom and it was Ruiz’s phone charger. She inspected it and found the camera,” the affidavit alleged.
“She sent a picture to Ruiz asking for an explanation. He admitted to placing it there to catch her cheating on him,” the affidavit alleged.
“(She) is very concerned of why images Ruiz may have of her in the bathroom. Also of her two small children, who also use her bathroom.
“She doesn’t want images of herself or children on the internet in retaliation,” the affidavit alleged.
She said “the camera must be connected through her Wi-Fi, because when Ruiz stayed with her, he asked for her Wi-Fi password,” the affidavit alleged.
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