The man arrested for video voyeurism in Publix and other stores now faces 134 charges

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Thomas Ali Burns, 45, was arrested on Aug. 14 and charged with video voyeurism after allegedly placing a phone in a shopping basket at Publix and then placing it on the floor under a woman's dress. He has now been charged with 67 counts of video voyeurism and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a crime after officers reportedly found 67 similar videos on his computer.

Full details from his original arrest report can be found here; an Alachua County Sheriff's deputy reopened the two-year-old case in June after employees at Market Square Public (2755 SW 91st Street) reported a suspicious person. Employees provided surveillance video from May and June 2024 that allegedly shows a man placing a cellphone in a shopping basket in his hand, then approaching a woman in a dress from behind and placing the basket under her skirt. A Publix employee told the deputy the man was “Ali Burns,” known to management as a regular customer who often buys lottery tickets.

A search of Burns' computer reportedly found 67 unique videos taken with a camera pointed up a skirt. In several of the videos, Burns can reportedly be seen looking into the camera and showing his face.

The videos appear to have been taken at various stores in the Gainesville area, including Publix, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, Aldi and Target. Some videos were taken in the area of ​​University Avenue and 13th Street. Other videos were reportedly taken at Volcano Bay in Orlando.

In Burns' first post-Miranda interview, he reportedly identified himself in surveillance videos from the store and showed off the same shirts he was wearing in the surveillance videos. He denied recording anyone and specifically denied recording under a dress. He reportedly stated that the surveillance video was shot from an odd angle and he was not as close to the victims as he appeared in the video.

The arresting officer reported that Burns “reacted emotionally” when shown the videos in which his face was visible, eventually saying he did not know why he was doing it and that he felt it was an addiction. Burns allegedly said he started doing it about two years ago when he saw a video of someone doing something similar; when shown surveillance video from a store in which a man with a shopping basket was standing behind women in dresses, he allegedly admitted to standing behind them and taking videos up their skirts.

Burns has now been charged with 67 counts of video voyeurism and 67 counts of using a two-way communication device to facilitate a crime.

Burns has two misdemeanor convictions (one for violence). Judge Susan Miller-Jones initially set bail at $60,000 and ordered that he not have access to computers or the internet. He is now being held without bail.

Articles about arrests are based on law enforcement reports. The charges listed are from the arrest report and/or court records and are merely accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.