Police said videos on the man’s phone dated back to April 3.
WINTER GARDEN, FL — A 19-year-old man was arrested Tuesday at Axum Coffee in downtown Winter Garden after police said he recorded women using an upstairs restroom and returned to the business after repeated warnings to leave.
Brian Larios-Perez faces charges of digital voyeurism, trespassing and criminal mischief, according to police and court records. The arrest has drawn concern in the busy West Plant Street district, where the coffee shop sits near restaurants, shops and sidewalks used by families, workers and visitors.
Winter Garden police said officers went to Axum Coffee on May 12 after a woman called 911 from the business. The woman told police she saw Larios-Perez standing partly inside the women’s restroom with his pants down, according to an arrest affidavit. When officers arrived, they found him inside the upstairs women’s restroom. Police said Larios-Perez first told officers he did not know it was the women’s restroom, then changed his account. The affidavit said he later told officers he had come to do schoolwork, needed to use the restroom and then said he was inside to play games on his phone. A person outside the coffee shop told a local television station, “You wouldn’t have thought walking in there that would have happened.”
Investigators said they reviewed Larios-Perez’s phone with his consent and found multiple videos of women using the restroom. Police said the recordings appeared to have been made with the phone propped on the floor and angled toward a neighboring stall. The earliest recording found on the device was dated April 3, according to the affidavit. Police have not said how many people were recorded or whether all of them have been identified. The affidavit said the recordings were made on multiple days. Records also list a criminal mischief charge tied to damage of $200 or less. Police said the case centers on the upstairs restroom area inside the building that houses Axum Coffee on West Plant Street.
The building’s owner told officers he recognized Larios-Perez as someone he had told to leave the property several times before, according to the affidavit. The owner also reported an earlier incident about two months before the arrest, when he said he found Larios-Perez in a men’s handicap restroom stall near holes in the wall. Police said those holes gave a direct line of sight into the women’s handicap restroom stall. The owner told police he had repaired the damage and wanted to pursue prosecution. The account from the owner became part of the trespassing and criminal mischief allegations, while the videos found on the phone supported the digital voyeurism count.
Larios-Perez was booked into the Orange County Jail after his arrest. WESH reported he was being held on a $3,500 bond at the time of its report, while a later broadcast account said he had since bonded out. Court records cited by local outlets show he was charged with digital voyeurism and trespassing, along with criminal mischief at or below $200. Police have not announced whether more charges are expected. Investigators also have not said whether they are seeking additional witnesses or whether more devices were searched. The case remains in its early court stage, and an attorney for Larios-Perez was not identified in the available reports.
The arrest comes during the same week that another Orange County coffee shop case drew public attention. Winter Park police arrested Nicolas Sebastian Esparza, identified in local reports as a Barry University law student, after investigators said hidden cameras were placed in a restroom at Barnie’s Coffee & Tea. Police in that case said multiple people were recorded. Winter Garden police have not linked the Axum Coffee case to the Winter Park case. Still, the timing of the arrests has added to concern among some people in downtown Winter Garden. William Marat, who spoke near the coffee shop, said the allegations were troubling in a place where families often walk, shop and spend time together.
People near Axum Coffee described shock after learning what police said happened inside the building. One person told a local station the allegations were “scary” and said they would make some customers feel uneasy about public restrooms. Marat said downtown Winter Garden is known as a neighborhood where children ride bikes and families feel safe. Police have not released the names of any people recorded, and no victim details have been made public. The business itself has not been accused of wrongdoing in the reports reviewed. The investigation focuses on Larios-Perez’s alleged actions inside the restroom and on the prior warnings the owner said he gave him.
The case now moves through Orange County court, where prosecutors will decide how to proceed on the filed counts. Police records place the first video on April 3 and the arrest on May 12. As of Thursday, officials had not announced a next hearing date or released new details on possible additional victims.
Author note: Last updated May 14, 2026.