Mayor Richard J. Berry Recognizes Albuquerque Police Officers for Capturing a Serial Voyeur

August 27, 2010

Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry recognized on Friday six Albuquerque Police Officers for capturing a voyeur who was sneaking into women’s bathrooms for months throughout the Metropolitan Area.

Albuquerque Police Officers Simon Drobik, Steven Lopez and Detectives Don Roberts, Steve Walsh, Josh Hawkes and Greg Trujillo, were named this week’s Friday’s Heroes. Each week Mayor Richard J. Berry recognizes at least one public safety employee who goes above the call of duty.

“These police officers are relentless,” Mayor Berry said. “They had little information to go on, but within 48 hours they had a man in custody who had victimized dozens of women.”

On Aug. 14, Officer Drobik was called to a Northeast Side shopping center on a report that a man was seen storming out of a women’s bathroom. Witnesses reported that the alleged voyeur was peeking underneath women’s stalls. A witness was able to get a license plate number and Drobik was able to determine that David Bloodworth owned the vehicle. Drobik and Lopez then combed through hundreds of police reports and found several similar cases. They were also able to find two outstanding warrants for Bloodworth and discovered their suspect had prior arrests for voyeurism in other states involving similar circumstances.

Detectives Roberts, Walsh, Hawkes and Trujillo took over the investigation and the search for Bloodworth. The detectives interviewed several key witnesses, victims, and past acquaintances. Through their vigorous hard work they found a lead that brought them to the home of a past friend.

Surveillance was conducted and on Aug.17, a day and a half into the investigation, Bloodworth was seen at the home. As the detectives approached Bloodworth, the fugitive fled and jumped a nearby fence. He was apprehended by the pursuing detectives. So far, detectives have been able to link Bloodworth to dozens of voyeurism cases throughout the metro area.

“Our officers had very little information to go on,” Deputy Chief of Police Beth Paiz said. “Thanks to the tenacity of two field officers and a hardworking team of detectives, Bloodworth is behind bars and women in this city are much safer.”