A respected television photographer’s career unraveled this week after police accused him of secretly recording people in a private area inside a newsroom.
According to the New York Post, Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, was arrested Tuesday following an investigation into hidden cameras discovered at KWTV News 9.
Authorities say the devices were used to capture footage of individuals in a dressing room without their knowledge.
The case began last month when a janitor working at the station’s downtown Oklahoma City studios found two concealed cameras.
According to investigators, the devices had been mounted with Velcro beneath clothing racks in an area where people changed in private.
“A review of the extracted video footage confirmed the cameras had been active and had recorded multiple subjects who used the dressing room areas in private settings,” an affidavit states.
Police said the recordings showed people in “various stages of undress,” though it was not immediately clear whether those filmed were employees or guests appearing on broadcasts.
As detectives dug deeper, they reviewed timestamps from the footage and determined the cameras had been accessed and adjusted multiple times.
Those timeframes, investigators said, lined up with occasions when Vannostran was present at the station despite not being scheduled to work.
According to court documents, Vannostran acknowledged he oversaw the station’s photography and videography department and had access to the type of equipment used in the recordings.
Authorities also noted that at least one memory card contained legitimate work material and was connected to gear marked with the station’s branding.
Vannostran, who won multiple Heartland Emmy Awards last year for his work as a photographer and editor, was taken into custody at his home in Moore, Oklahoma. He faces a charge related to the clandestine use of video equipment in a private place.
He remained in the Oklahoma County Jail on a $25,000 bond following his arrest.
The station’s parent company, Griffin Media, confirmed it is cooperating with law enforcement.
“Griffin Media is aware of the arrest of our former employee Darrell Vannostran,” said Houston Hunt, the company’s vice president of marketing.
“When the devices were discovered, we immediately contacted the police and have been cooperating fully with their investigation. We are very appreciative of the dedicated, hard work by the members of the Oklahoma City Police Department.”
Vannostran is no longer employed by the station, though it remains unclear whether he was terminated or resigned. The investigation is ongoing.
