Pentagon City upskirting suspect escaped through employee-only tunnels, police say

WASHINGTON — Arlington police say a man who worked at a Pentagon City hotel used employee-only tunnels to escape after being discovered during an upskirting incident at a Northern Virginia metro station last month.

Demar Justin Tyrell, 21, of Lanham, Maryland, now faces misdemeanor charges of unlawful filming and assault and battery in connection with an incident at the Pentagon City Metro Station on May 9. Tyrell was arrested last month after the director of security at the Pentagon City Ritz-Carlton hotel recognized him as an employee.

The victim in that incident, who spoke to WUSA9 last month under the condition of anonymity, said she was riding an upward escalator when a man she didn’t know approached her from behind and placed a cellphone underneath her dress. The woman told WUSA9 she then felt something brushing against her thigh and turned around – which was when she noticed the phone.

"I said, ‘What are you doing?’" she told WUSA9 last month. "And I looked down, saw his phone in his hand and it was the hand that was in my dress.”

The woman immediately called 911 and gave chase, but the man – who she described as being approximately 5’9” and wearing a red zipped jacket or hoodie — was able to escape.

"Unfortunately I was wearing heels and I couldn’t catch up to him,” she said. “But if I had my trainers on - I’m pretty sure I would have got him.”

According to documents filed in Arlington County Circuit Court this month, however, the suspect had an additional advantage: he was able to access employee-only tunnels in the nearby Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall to escape. An Arlington County Police detective said in court filings that surveillance footage showed the suspect fleeing from the food court area of the mall into the tunnels and running toward the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. A still image of the suspect was circulated by the mall’s director of security. From that photo, the Ritz-Carlton’s director of security was able to positively ID the suspect as Tyrell, who had worked at the hotel for two years.

Police obtained a warrant for Tyrell’s arrest on May 29. According to a search warrant filed for his cell phone earlier this month, during his arrest Tyrell confessed he’d photographed the woman on the escalator.

Tyrell was released on bond following his arrest and was scheduled for arraignment on both charges on June 1, but that hearing was continued until August. Tyrell was being represented by Alexandria-based criminal defense attorney Edward Ungvarsky.

A manager for the Ritz-Carlton did not return two phone calls seeking comment Wednesday. Arlington County Police declined to offer further information due to the ongoing prosecution. Ungvarsky could not be reached for comment.

Under Virginia law, conviction of the class 1 misdemeanor offenses Tyrell faces carries a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine of not more than $2,500.