Starbucks’ Up-Skirt Peeper Foiled By Flash: Deputies

PALM HARBOR, FL — A 48-year-old Tampa man’s decision to turn on his flash while taking photos in Palm Harbor Starbucks on Monday evidently did more than illuminate his intended subject. According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the action tipped off an employee that the man was allegedly taking up-skirt photos of a customer.

Deputies say the case against Justin Buck began to build around 1:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the 3180 Tampa Road Starbucks. Buck was in the store at the time and later admitted to taking pictures of a 21-year-old woman without her consent, an email from the sheriff’s office said.

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The problem with the photos, deputies say, is that they focused from an angle that provided Buck an up-skirt view.

Buck reportedly told deputies he sat across the table from the woman and shot “three photographs under the table.” The photos showed her panties, the email noted.

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Buck took three photos initially, but “realized they were too dark,” the email said. “He then turned on the flash and took two more photos.”

When the store employee noticed what was happening, the sheriff’s office was called.

Deputies say Buck gave them permission to search his iPad and phone. Authorities now say he is suspected in similar incidents at other Starbucks’ locations in the Tampa Bay area. Additional charges are pending.

For now, deputies say Buck has been charged with a single count of video voyeurism. Buck was booked into the Pinellas County Jail after his Monday arrest. He was later released in lieu of $5,000 bond.

Further information is not being released at this time.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office