STARKVILLE — A Starkville man was arrested Monday for allegedly placing a hidden recording device inside his own home to surveil someone else without their knowledge.
Scott Gronewold, 50, is charged with photographing or filming another without permission where there is an expectation of privacy, a felony under state law, according to a Starkville Police Department press release.
Officers on Sunday responded to the suspect’s residence on Woodlawn Road in regards to a report of a recording device being “covertly placed inside the home,” the press release said.
Following an investigation and a “threat assessment,” officers arrested Gronewold at the residence just before midnight Monday with assistance from SPD’s tactical team.
Public Information Officer Sgt. Brandon Lovelady would not confirm whether the assessment involved the suspect threatening to harm himself or others. He would also not confirm whether the victim also lived in the home.
“We will not provide any victim-related information that would reveal the identity of the victim,” Lovelady wrote in a text to The Dispatch.
State law specifically prohibits recording in places where a person would intend to be in a state of undress and have a reasonable expectation of privacy while doing so, including, but not limited to private dwellings, or any facility used as a restroom, fitting room or bedroom, among others.
Gronewold was initially taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital–Oktibbeha County for medical and mental health treatment, but he was booked into Oktibbeha County Jail after noon Tuesday. There was no booking photo of Gronewold publicly available by press time Tuesday.
SPD initially posted the press release to Facebook on Tuesday, but the post was deleted shortly after “out of consideration of those involved,” Lovelady said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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