By Joshua Melvin
Contra Costa Times
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A San Francisco man who surreptitiously slid a camera beneath a woman’s dress in a Colma clothing store and snapped a picture was sentenced to almost two weeks in jail as part of a plea bargain, a prosecutor said.
Jose Hernandez Gomez, 33, got caught taking the photo in a Nordstrom Rack store June 30 by a security guard who was watching him via a surveillance camera, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The woman was unaware of what he was doing. But she later told police she had noticed him near her and had felt uncomfortable.
Police say Gomez told them he took the photo because “it was easy to get away with.”
He pleaded no contest Thursday in San Mateo County Superior Court to a misdemeanor charge of secretly filming someone for sexual purposes. Commissioner Stephanie Garratt sentenced him to 12 days in jail. Because he had been in custody since his arrest the day of the incident, Gomez, through good behavior credits, served enough time to be released.
He was still behind bars Friday, however, because a stay had been placed on his release.
The reason for the stay may have been the man’s immigration status, but that couldn’t be confirmed Friday, said Wagstaffe.
Defense attorney John Elworth did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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