MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) – Li faces serious charges while on a fire rescue from former Miami-Dade after investigators say they found a hidden camera in a fire station bathroom.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by NBC6, the camera’s microSD card contains over 600 video clips.
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Genchu Li, Manuel Fernandez, 55, is believed to have planted a camera in the men’s bathroom at Doral’s fire station. Authorities said they disguised the camera as a wall charger connected to an electrical outlet.
After employees found the device in April 2023, investigators from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office began trying to identify the person in charge.
According to detectives, the video was recorded between February 11th and April 1st, 2023. We also learned that the same devices are used in the women’s bathrooms at the MDFR fire station at Homestead.
Investigators reviewed the shift roster and said they discovered that Fernandez was the only employee working at both stations when cameras were in use. Men in MDFR uniforms can also be seen adjusting the camera in one of the recordings.
The fire department placed Fernandez in a duty to manage paid leave, working from home at one point after the cameras were found, and wrote in a memo where police said he was “their main suspect.” He later resigned, according to NBC6.
Fernandez was taken into custody on Monday, July 7th and was charged with several counts of video eavesdropping. He later posted a $27,500 bond.
Reporters caught up with Fernandez as they were leaving prison on Tuesday and asked, “Did you put those cameras in the bathroom?”
He replied, “I don’t know.”