Emmy-winning local journalist allegedly hid cameras in TV station’s dressing room

An Emmy Award-winning photojournalist posed for a wild, bug-eyed mugshot as he was arrested for secretly filming people getting undressed at an Oklahoma TV station, according to police.

Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, looked crazed and disheveled as he was arrested Tuesday after creepy photos of “subjects in various stages of undress” were found on his cell phone — having been secretly recorded with work equipment at KWTV, also known as News 9, according to police.

The investigation started last month after a janitor found two hidden cameras in the downtown Oklahoma City studios of the Griffin Media-owned station, according to an affidavit obtained by the Oklahoman.

The cameras were mounted with Velcro underneath clothing racks in the room, investigators said.

“A review of the extracted video footage confirmed the cameras had been active and had recorded multiple subjects who used the dressing room areas in private settings,” the affidavit states.

It was not immediately clear if the recordings were of employees or guests appearing on the station’s coverage.

Times stamps from the footage showed that the cameras were adjusted twice and accessed multiple times — coinciding with times when Vannostran was there even though he was not scheduled to work, according to KFOR.

The accused creep confirmed to investigators that he supervised the company’s photography and videography department and worked with the type of equipment used, according to the documents.

At least one of the memory cards that was investigated appeared to be of legitimate business activity with an external battery pack marked “KWTV.”

Vannostran was nominated and won multiple Heartland TV Emmy Awards as a photographer and editor last year.

He was arrested at his home in Moore on Tuesday on a warrant for the use of photo or video equipment in a clandestine manner in a private place.

Vannostran was still in custody at the Oklahoma County jail on Tuesday on a $25,000 bond.

He no longer works for 9 News, although it’s not clear if he was fired or quit.

“Griffin Media is aware of the arrest of our former employee Darrell Vannostran,” the company’s vice president of marketing, Houston Hunt, told the Oklahoman in a statement.

“When the devices were discovered, we immediately contacted the police and have been cooperating fully with their investigation. We are very appreciative of the dedicated, hard work by the members of the Oklahoma City Police Department.”