Douglas Brent Egan
A registered sex offender is accused of sneaking into a women’s restroom while dressed as a woman in order to secretly take pictures.
Douglas Brent Egan, 45, was arrested on Saturday for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper photo/video in a bathroom.
Cops in Fort Worth, Texas, responded to a weapon call that went out from Hulen Mall on Saturday afternoon, according to a police statement sent to Law&Crime. It was Christmas Eve. Police say Egan was inside a public restroom when a woman caught him pointing his cellphone at her from under a stall wall. This sparked a confrontation, cops said.
“A female victim was inside a public bathroom inside the mall when she observed what appeared to be a cellphone facing her from underneath a stall wall,” officers said. “She stepped out of the stall and confronted the suspect who was described as a male that was dressed to look like a female. The suspect left the bathroom and was attempting to leave the mall as the female victim continued pursuing the suspect.”
The woman followed Egan out, according to cops. A man saw this confrontation and tried to step in to stop the suspect from leaving, police said. The suspect, however, pulled out what seemed to be a handgun, officers said. He allegedly pointed it at the male witness.
“The suspect then left the mall, but was being observed by several witnesses,” officers said. “These witnesses saw the suspect changing his clothes and also observed what appeared to be a handgun in the back waistband of the suspect’s pants.”
That gun, according to police, was a “pepper ball” gun.
Witnesses kept an eye on the suspect until cops arrived and detained him, according to cops.
Egan is currently locked up at the Lon Evans Corrections Center on a $30,000 bond. Court is scheduled for Jan. 3.
Online records show that Egan has been a registered offender in Texas since at least 2011. The Texas Public Sex Offender Website classifies him as having a “high” risk level. Victims included a 32-year-old woman in an indecent exposure case, and a 16-year-old girl in a case of indecency with a child by exposure.
[Mugshot via Tarrant County Jail]