Man holds neighbor, accused of peeping, at gunpoint until police arrive

Michael Woodward, 45, arrested in Port Orange

PORT ORANGE, Fla. – A Port Orange couple helped arrest their neighbor after they found the man peeping into their bathroom window, officials said Tuesday.

"He was directly under my bathroom window, and on the other side of the bathroom window was me and my girlfriend," Chris Beres told News 6.

"It's disgusting (and) disturbing to have that sense that there's somebody watching you," said Alexandria Kenney, Beres' girlfriend.

The couple said they were in the bathroom Monday night when they heard a strange sound coming through the glass window. 

"I was like, 'Shhh, I think there's somebody outside,' so I hear like, heavy breathing. It's like, constant heavy breathing," Kenney said.

That's when Beres got his shotgun and went outside to scope out the situation, Kenney said.

"I noticed a tall figure standing against the side of the wall of my house," Beres said.

Police later identified the man as 45-year-old Michael Woodward, their next-door neighbor. Beres said Woodward wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes.

The police report said Woodward told Beres he had lost his car keys.

Beres said he held Woodward at gunpoint until officers arrived and took the man into custody. 

"I didn't think that somebody so close to me would (do) something like that," Beres said. "You don't expect your neighbors within 50 feet of your house to be spying on you through your windows."

Police arrested Woodward on voyeurism and prowling charges.

He has since posted bond and been released from the Volusia County Jail.


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