What started as a routine shopping trip for two sisters at a Hurst mall ended with a criminal investigation, a viral TikTok post, a second victim coming forward, and the arrest of a store employee three weeks later.
On April 24, 2026, Liz Marin and her sister walked into the Aeropostale store at North East Mall, located at 1101 Melbourne Road in Hurst, Texas, to try on some clothes. Inside one of the fitting rooms, Liz noticed something that did not belong there: what appeared to be a camera lens peeking through a small tear in a black bag hanging on the wall. She took a closer look. It was a camera, connected to a power cord and a portable battery pack, positioned to record anyone changing inside the room.
The sisters did not leave it behind. They removed the device from the fitting room, walked out of the store, and immediately handed it over to a Hurst police officer who was stationed outside the mall. “I am grateful that it was my sister and I that found the camera,” Liz Marin told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. “I felt like speaking about this would help others.” The discovery set off a criminal investigation that would take three weeks, a search warrant, a TikTok video and a second victim to complete.
The Investigation
Hurst Police Department detectives took possession of the device and had it processed for evidence. What they found confirmed their suspicions: the camera had been actively recording and contained invasive visual recordings of individuals inside the fitting room. Detectives began reviewing the footage to identify who had placed the device there.
The work paid off. The recordings led investigators directly to a suspect: Caleb Leonard, a 23-year-old employee of the Aeropostale store at North East Mall. Leonard had been employed at the location at the time the camera was discovered. Once the initial report was made to police, the store placed him on administrative leave while the investigation was underway.
On May 14, 2026, at approximately 10 a.m., Hurst Police issued an arrest warrant for Leonard. Officers arrested him at his residence without incident. A search warrant was also obtained and additional evidence was collected during the operation. Leonard was charged with Invasive Visual Recording and Tampering with Physical Evidence, both serious offenses under Texas law. He was taken into custody and booked. The store has since terminated his employment.
A Second Victim Comes Forward
The case grew beyond the April 24 incident after Liz Marin posted about her experience on TikTok. The video reached another woman, identified in reports as Mayo, who contacted Hurst Police after watching the post. Mayo told investigators that she had visited the same Aeropostale fitting rooms on April 3, three weeks before the Marin sisters found the camera, and had noticed a similar black bag hanging inside the fitting room. At the time she did not realize what it was. “I had the same experience, but I didn’t notice the camera, so I just thought it was a weird experience, but not anything crazy like what it actually is,” Mayo told NBC 5. She filed a report with Hurst Police after seeing the TikTok.
The disclosure expanded the scope of the investigation and suggested the camera may have been in place for a longer period than initially believed.
What Texas Law Says
Under Texas Penal Code Section 21.15, secretly recording a person in a private space such as a dressing room, restroom, or locker room without their consent is considered Invasive Visual Recording. The offense is classified as a state jail felony, which in Texas carries a sentence of between 180 days and two years in a state jail facility, as well as potential fines. Depending on the circumstances and the content of the recordings, additional charges can be filed. The Tampering with Physical Evidence charge that Leonard also faces relates to alleged attempts to interfere with or destroy evidence connected to the case.
Convictions for invasive visual recording in Texas can also carry registration consequences that follow the offender long after any jail sentence is completed.
Aeropostale’s Parent Company Responds
Catalyst Brands, the parent company of Aeropostale, issued a statement to Fox 4 Dallas following the arrest. The company said it became aware of the allegations, immediately suspended Leonard and began working with the Hurst Police Department to support their investigation. It confirmed that Leonard’s employment has since been permanently terminated. “The safety and security of our customers is always of utmost concern, and we have zero tolerance for behavior that puts anyone visiting our stores at risk,” the statement read. “We are grateful to the Hurst Police Department for their professionalism related to this matter.”
The company did not address whether it would conduct its own internal review of security protocols at its fitting room locations or whether additional measures would be put in place to prevent similar incidents.
Why This Case Matters Beyond the Arrest
For many shoppers, the case at North East Mall raises broader questions about fitting room safety at retail stores across the country. Hidden cameras in dressing rooms are not a new phenomenon, but the ease with which small, battery-powered recording devices can now be concealed inside everyday objects like bags, hooks, or smoke detectors has made the threat more difficult to detect and more widespread.
Security experts consistently advise shoppers to scan fitting rooms before changing, paying close attention to anything that seems out of place, particularly small holes, unusual objects with no obvious purpose, or bags and items that were not brought in by the customer. If something looks wrong, the recommendation is always to leave the room, inform store staff and contact police immediately, which is exactly what the Marin sisters did.
Their decision to act and then speak publicly about it on social media directly contributed to a second victim coming forward and helped confirm the scope of the investigation. In cases like this, that kind of awareness can make the difference between one reported incident and a fuller picture of what actually happened.
What to Do If You Were There
Hurst Police are still asking anyone who used the Aeropostale fitting rooms at North East Mall and believes they may have been recorded, or who has any additional information about the case, to contact the department directly at 817-788-7166. The investigation remains active. Additional charges or arrests have not been ruled out.
Caleb Leonard’s case is pending in the court system. No trial date has been publicly set.