Man caught on camera peeping through windows in Surprise, police say

A man was caught on camera multiple times peeping through windows in Surprise but a boyfriend of a victim chased him down and caught him, police say.
Published: Aug. 17, 2022 at 6:18 PM MST
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SURPRISE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Police say a man had a habit of peeping through his unsuspecting neighbors’ windows in Surprise. The boyfriend of one victim, who’s a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detention officer, chased him down and held him until the police showed up. Night after night, Shelby Collins’ Ring doorbell video shows the same man, who police identified as 28-year-old Evan Hanhardt, peeking through unsuspecting neighbors’ windows at a complex near Mountain View Boulevard and Parkview Place. “It’s disturbing because my kids’ window is not very far from where that window is,” said Collins.

She immediately showed the victim the video. Collins knows what it feels like to be on the other side of the window because she said she was a victim of a peeping Tom when she was a child. “It was pretty tramautizing,” Collins said. “He had a stump outside of our window and he was actually caught by our neighbors back then.” Court documents said Hanhardt admitted to the crimes and told investigators he was addicted to pornography, and peeking through windows gave him a rush.

It all came to a stop because an off-duty MCSO detention officer jumped into action and caught the suspect. He held onto him until officers arrived. Hanhardt is facing eight counts of voyeurism. Police said there are likely more victims and urged them to call their non-emergency line at 623-222-4000.