The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged a Walnut Creek man with dozens of felonies and misdemeanors Monday after his arrest last week in connection with hidden cameras installed at a Starbucks in Walnut Creek.
In a statement, a district attorney’s spokesman said Steven Novelli, 54, faces charges of attempting to produce child pornography, burglary, eavesdropping and installing a hidden camera after a case filed by Walnut Creek police detectives with help from Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force members.
After identifying Novelli as a suspect in two installations of hidden cameras inside a bathroom at Starbucks, 1340 North Main St., police obtained a warrant to search Novelli’s home and carried out a search Aug. 10, retrieving “numerous items of digital evidence,” the statement said.
Novelli was arrested just after 3 a.m. last Thursday and booked into Martinez county jail. He was held on $1,130,000 bail and faced arraignment Tuesday at a county courthouse, according to a county records check.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, police investigators are hoping to speak with anyone who visited that Starbucks on June 4 or July 23 between 3:30 and 5 p.m.
Anyone with information may e-mail Walnut Creek police Det. Tyler Bertolozzi at tbertolozzi@walnutcreekpd.com and reference Case No. 01-22-01419.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.
