John Puncel, Former Women's Volleyball Coach, Allegedly Took Upskirt Video at Glendale Galleria: Cops Say Underage Victims Possible

Daniel Bagel

Try not to take "upskirt" videos of women going up or down escalators ... while cops are watching you!

Doing so while everyone else is watching you is bad enough.

But Glendale police this week said they had their peepers on Sylmar's John Puncel as he whipped out his cellphone camera, started to record, and held it so low as a woman in a skirt cruised by on an escalator. Smooth:

Police say it happened at the Glendale Galleria Monday.

Officers assigned to the foot beat at the mall noticed the suspect with his phone lit up and held low as a woman in a knee-length skirt passed by on an escalator, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz told the Weekly.

When they grabbed John Puncel, he allegedly resisted, tried to keep his phone away, and tried to press buttons on it, he said. He was unsuccessful.

Glendale PD

This guy.

Not only that, but another officer stopped the victim and showed her the video. Outraged, she voted to have the guy arrested on the spot. Lorenz:

She identified herself on the video and said, 'That's my skirt, among other things.'

Puncel was arrested on suspicion of taking upskirt images (yes, there's a law against that), battery on an officer and resisting arrest.

Turns out the 49-year-old suspect, in a story broken by the Glendale News-Press, is a former assistant women's volleyball coach at Pasadena City College.

He's also listed as a board member of the San Gabriel Valley Football Officials Association.

Although he's been released until his case gets sorted and filed (or not) by the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, he's not out of the woods yet.

Authorities served a search warrant on his home and took his computer. They're having a look-see.

And Lorenz alleges that there are other upskirt victims on his phone. Not only that, but they're looking into the possibility that some of the targets might be underage, which would put the suspect in a whole new world of hurt.

Anyone with info on him was asked to call the Glendale PD at 818-548-3106.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]