Neighbor Uses Selfie Stick to Spy on Woman: ICYMI

BETHESDA, MD — A Bethesda man has pleaded guilty to illegally using a camera on a selfie stick to spy on a woman in a third-floor apartment – an intrusion he told police was surveillance.

Montgomery County Police say Donald Beard, 60, of 10630 Montrose Ave. in Bethesda, attached a camera to a selfie stick, went out to his second floor balcony and filmed and photographed the woman who lived upstairs.

According to court records, the intrusion took place between September 2013 and May 2015.

The victim called police after she spotted the camera aimed through her window in October 2014. Detectives found 16 videos of the woman, one of which showed her topless, on Beard’s electronic gear and computer.

When questioned by police about his camera use, Beard claimed it was “for investigative purposes” because the single woman was spending time with married men. Beard allegedly wanted to catch the victim in the act, WJLA says.

Police in late 2014 seized several electronic devices from Beard’s apartment, which yielded numerous audio and video recordings of the victim, dating from September of 2013.

Investigators say Beard used an audio recorder outside the woman’s front door to capture conversations taking place inside her home. Beard also attached a camera to a selfie stick in order to position the camera in front of the victim’s sliding glass door and record video of her in her apartment.

Beard was charged in July 2015 with use of a camera in a private residence, visual surveillance in a private area, and two counts of interception of communication, according to Maryland online court records.

He pleaded guilty Jan. 4 to attempted interception of communication. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 25, WJLA reports.