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Mark Anthony Gonzales (Photo: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office)
Suspected by law enforcement of trespass and stealing women’s shoes in California — and pleasuring himself while in the act — a 26-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly breaking into two separate condos in neighboring Nevada and fondling the feet of women asleep inside.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Minden, Nevada said the suspect, Mark Anthony Gonzales, was arrested at his residence in Atwater, California with the help of California authorities.
Gonzales is accused of breaking into two condominiums in Stateline, near the California border, through screen doors that were left unlocked by residents. On both occasions spanning July 1 to July 3, once inside the homes, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Oiffce, Gonzales crept into the victims’ bedroom and then stood at the edge of the bed. Two women reported that Gonzales rubbed their feet, waking them abruptly. Once awake, the women confronted the 26-year-old man but he fled shortly after, the sheriff’s office said.
Gonzales is being held on $50,000 bail. Though the arrest took place at his home in California, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said he would be extradited back to Nevada for the alleged break-ins there.
In a statement Tuesday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said that Gonzales was “known to local law enforcement” in the area and was suspected of “numerous crimes,” including stealing women’s shoes, trespassing, and “sexual self-gratification during some of these incidents.”
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“It appeared to DCSO Investigators that Gonzales’ crimes were escalating in nature,” the statement said.
Sheriff Dan Coverley said he was pleased Nevada’s investigators were able to track down Gonzales, who has been described in local reports as the Lake Tahoe “foot fondler.”
“These types of crimes are especially alarming to the community, and being able to make an arrest allows the victims and community to feel safe,” Coverley said.
According to security company ADT, roughly a third of burglars enter through an unlocked front door.
As for alleged toe-sucking incidents during break-ins and burglaries, national statistics are unavailable. But there does seem to be a recurring theme: This May, Law&Crime reported that a man sleeping at a Hilton Hotel in Tennessee allegedly awoke one morning to find a hotel employee suckling on his feet.
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