Gainesville man arrested for video voyeurism after allegedly placing cameras under women's clothing in retail stores

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thomas Ali Burns, 45, was arrested yesterday 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. Hundreds of similar videos on his computer indicated he did this regularly at Gainesville stores over several years.

The victim told an Alachua County Sheriff's deputy that she was shopping at Publix Market Square (2755 SW 91st Street) on July 21, 2022, when she noticed a shopping basket touching her leg under her skirt. She said she looked down and saw a cell phone on the bottom of the basket with the camera facing up. She said she confronted a man about the phone, but he did not respond to her and just walked away.

The victim said she saw the man get into a gray SUV with a custom license plate and she gave the officer the license plate number. The plate was allegedly registered to a relative of Burns.

Surveillance video from Publix reportedly showed Burns near the victim at the checkout line. He took a phone out of his pocket and placed it in the shopping basket, then stood behind the victim in line and placed the basket on the floor behind her. The video showed him looking into a beverage cooler, then picked up the basket and walked away. The officer noted that for a brief moment, the phone's screen was visible on the video and this was “consistent with a cell phone camera application.”

The victim immediately notified a Publix employee, and Publix managers told the officer that there had been previous “suspicious incidents” involving the same man. On July 27, 2022, Publix managers learned of two more incidents that month involving the same man and behavior. Publix provided the officer with videos of those incidents. Publix also told the officer that they knew the man's name – Thomas Ali Burns – because he is a regular customer of the store and buys lottery tickets.

After Burns was identified, he was positively identified by the victim in a photo lineup on July 28, 2022, after which the investigation reportedly stalled.

On June 4, 2024, an officer responded to a call about a suspicious person at the same Publix, and a manager provided video of several incidents. On May 26, Burns allegedly placed a cell phone in a shopping basket and placed it under a woman's dress, and the same thing happened on May 28. The manager allegedly said he knew the man as Ali Burns.

Judge David Kreider signed a search warrant for Burns' address on July 10, which was executed on July 17.

After the Miranda disclosure, Burns reportedly identified himself in videos from the store, showing off the same shirts he wore in the videos. He denied recording anyone, and specifically denied filming 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.

Burns' phone was seized, but he allegedly provided two different incorrect passwords, and officers are still trying to access the data on the phone. However, approximately 2,500 videos were reportedly found on Burns' computer that appeared to have been uploaded from the iPhone; there were also videos of Burns in his home wearing various clothes and dancing in front of the camera. The officer reported that all of the videos either featured voyeurism victims or Burns himself.

There were reportedly 77 videos taken under skirts or dresses and 158 videos that showed the victims' clothed buttocks or breasts. In the videos, Burns appeared to follow the victims through the store and film them. In two of the videos, Burns reportedly looked into the camera and recorded his face on the video after pulling the shopping basket out from under a dress.

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.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office is attempting to identify additional victims of voyeurism. Anyone who recognizes Burns and believes they are a victim can contact Det. Adkins at [email protected].

Burns was charged with video voyeurism of a victim under 19, video voyeurism of a victim over 19, and using a two-way communication device to commit a crime. He was convicted of two misdemeanor counts (one of them for violence). Judge Susan Miller-Jones set bail at $60,000 and ordered that he not have access to computers or the internet.

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