Prosecutors have accepted a second felony charge against a restaurant worker accused of secretly recording customers inside a bathroom at a Lupe Tortilla near the Katy Freeway, according to police.
Bayson Elias Pu, 31, is now expected to be formally charged with fraudulent use of identifying information after investigators determined he used a Social Security number belonging to a retired man in Nevada.
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The charge has been accepted by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and is expected to be officially filed later today, police said.
Officials also told KPRC 2 that the Assistant District Attorney is considering upgrading the criminal charge from fraudulent use of identifying information to tampering with a government document.
Detectives with Hedwig Village Police Department are working with the DA and the general manager of the Lupe Tortilla to secure the appropriate charge for the case.
Pu is already charged with felony invasive visual recording after court records allege he placed a hidden camera inside a restroom at the Lupe Tortilla restaurant at 9313 Katy Freeway, where he worked as a dishwasher.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Hidden camera found in Lupe Tortilla bathroom, employee charged with invasive recording
Investigators say two videos recovered from the device allegedly show a female child and an adult woman using the restroom, including footage of their buttocks.
Thursday morning, KPRC 2’s Michael Horton spoke with Hedwig Village Police Chief Wood, who said the fraudulent SSN was discovered during the employment portion of the investigation, before Pu’s arrest.
“When we arrested Pu, through the investigation and through his application for employment, he produced a Social Security number,” Wood said. “That SSN went back to a man in Las Vegas who recently retired.”
Police said the 66-year-old Nevada man confirmed the number belonged to him and told investigators he did not authorize Pu to use it.
Chief Wood said the victim expressed concern that the suspect may have been declaring earnings under his SSN, potentially affecting his retirement benefits.
Investigators also discovered that the resident alien card number provided by Pu led to a man born in 1930. However, Chief Wood said no charge has been filed related to that number.
“We’re not even sure that person is alive today,” he added.
Pu remains in custody in the Harris County Jail. He is currently held on a $100,000 bond, and police say a new bond hearing is expected following the additional charge.
“I am very proud of the work of my detectives and how seriously they have taken this case and worked it so diligently,” Chief Wood told KPRC 2 in a text message.
Court records also show Pu has an immigration hold, meaning he is not expected to be released even if bond conditions change.
Police say the investigation is ongoing, and detectives are continuing to work with prosecutors as the case moves forward.