Richfield Man Charged With Invasion of Privacy After Peeking at His Neighbor's Young Children

A Richfield man has been charged with peeping in the windows of a neighbor’s home where the neighbor’s three children last weekend.

Vidal Gomez-Arellano, 27, who lives in the 700 block of 78th Street East, faces a gross misdemeanor charge of interference with privacy.

According to the report, officers on routine patrol just after midnight Sunday spotted Gomez-Arellano crouched down near the window of an apartment on the same block where he lives.

Gomez-Arellano was partially concealed behind some satellite dishes, with his face pressed against the window, looking through a break in the blinds, according to the report.

“As the officer approached, [Gomez-Arellano] quickly stood up and pulled up his pants, which were previously below his waist,” the report stated. “He then attempted to quickly walk away from the officer.”

The officer told Gomez-Arellano to stop, took hold of him and asked him where he lived at which point the suspect “started to tense up and pull his body away from the officer,” according to the report.

Police put Gomez-Arellano on the ground and handcuffed him. Gomez-Arellano refused to talk to police, the report said.

Officers spoke to the resident of the apartment into which Gomez-Arellano had been peeking, and the resident told them he didn’t know the suspect and had never seen him before. The resident told police that just before they knocked on his door, his children, ages 7, 4 and 2, had been in the room.