Former Alamogordo tanning salon owner plead guilty to voyeurism

ALAMOGORDO – The 29-year-old former co-owner of an Alamogordo tanning salon plead guilty in 12th Judicial District Court Wednesday to videotaping and photographing customers while they were inside the business’ tanning booths in 2016.

In a plea and disposition agreement with the state, Cody J. Garcia, of Tularosa, plead guilty to two counts of fourth-degree felony voyeurism (victim under 18) and 164 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism.

Garcia will continue to be released on his $25,000 bond pending his sentencing hearing that’s scheduled later this year. He is facing a possible maximum prison sentence of 167 years plus a $100,000 fine.

According to the plea agreement, the state will agree to an initial cap of 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence on all the remaining charges.

Under his conditions of release, Garcia can’t possess or own a firearm, use or possess drugs or alcohol. He cannot also enter any drinking establishments. Garcia is prohibited from contacting any of the victims in his case. He also must stay in contact with his defense attorney, James Walker.

According to 12th Judicial District Court records, Alamogordo Police Department officers started receiving complaints from numerous Bahama Mama Salon and Tanning customers May 19, 2016.

APD officers’ reports from Tanning salon customers about being videotaped or photographed while in the business’ tanning booths.

According to court records obtained by the Daily News, APD officers and detectives executed a search warrant at Bahama Mama, 523 S. White Sands Blvd., then seized video surveillance equipment and a cell phone belonging to Garcia.

Garcia and his wife owned the business since February 2015 but closed the business sometime after Garcia was arrested May 19, 2016, records show. The business’ building is also being sold.

According to records, APD detectives viewed all of the tapes from the business’ surveillance equipment to determine what was going on at the business.

After Garcia’s arrest in 2016, people started calling APD detectives because they were customers and wanted to know if they were victims, records show.

According to records, victims ages, both male and female, ranged between 18-years-old and over 70-years-old.

Detectives observed a woman enter one of the tanning rooms then Garcia is observed on the business' video footage going up to the door of the room with a cell phone or other device in his hand and holding it up to the open space above the door frame and the ceiling, according to records.

According to records, Garcia told detectives that he has done it between 50 and 100 times since 2015 with the women being mostly nude, and a few were wearing bikinis or underwear.

Garcia told detectives that he would look at the photos or videos and then he deletes them from his cell phone, according to records.