Son of Buc-ee's Co-Founder Allegedly Peeped on a Dozen

UPDATE May 31, 2024 7:09 AM CDT

Mitchell Wasek, son of a co-owner of the Buc-ee's convenience store chain, has been indicted by a grand jury on 21 felony counts related to his alleged recording of people without their knowledge. A grand jury in Travis County, Texas, "decided that Mr. Wasek's conduct was unlawful," District Attorney José Garza said Wednesday, per USA Today. He said the 28-year-old former law student is charged with the invasive visual recording of 13 individuals over two years. Wasek faces up to two years in jail per count. His attorney says the case involves "many thorny legal issues," per the Dallas Morning News. A key question: "May a homeowner install a camera in his home without telling housekeepers or guests, or does the guest have a greater legal right than the homeowner?"

Oct 6, 2023 8:55 AM CDT

The son of a Buc-ee's co-founder placed hidden cameras in properties owned by his family, secretly recording visitors "using toilets, showering, changing clothes, and/or having sex," according to court documents. Mitchell Wasek, 28, was arrested Tuesday and faces 28 state-jail felony charges of invasive visual recording, per KXAN. A woman went to police in May after visiting a lake house owned by Wasek's father, Donald Wasek, co-founder of the beloved Texas-based Buc-ee's gas and convenience stores. The woman, who stayed at the home with Mitchell Wasek and others, reported that a friend and cybersecurity expert had "discovered that a charging port plugged into the wall of their assigned bathroom ... contained a hidden camera," an arrest affidavit reads, per KXAS.

The visitors left with the camera, whose micro-card was found to hold dozens of videos of themselves and others at the house on Texas' Lake Travis, per the document. The woman then notified the Dallas Police Department and Travis County Sheriff's Office, per KXAN. "They were unaware that the recordings existed in the bedroom and bathroom, and indicated they did not consent to being recorded or photographed," a sheriff's deputy writes in the affidavit, per the Dallas Morning News. Authorities obtained a warrant and discovered 68 videos dating back to 2021. They featured at least 13 men and women in various states of undress as they used the bathroom, showered, and engaged in sex, per the affidavit.

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Authorities claim Wasek, a law student at Dallas' Southern Methodist University, didn't just film visitors at the lake house but also at his Dallas apartment, a condo in Austin, and his family's vacation home in Telluride, Colorado. One victim recognized footage of her and a friend changing into Halloween costumes in a bathroom at Wasek's apartment last October, per KXAS. Authorities allege the 28-year-old was present at the time of each recording while no other family members were. They've also obtained records showing Wasek purchased at least six "spy cameras," the affidavit states, per the Morning News. He was released Tuesday on a $280,000 bond—$10,000 per each charge. He faces up to two years in state jail for each count if convicted, up to a maximum of 56 years. (More peeping tom stories.)