AUSTIN (KXAN) — The son of a co-founder of the nationally renowned Buc-ee’s convenience store has been arrested in Texas on 28 separate state jail felony charges of invasive visual recordings.
Mitchell Wasek, 28, was released one hour after being arrested on a $10,000 bond on the condition he not contact the complainants, according to Travis County jail records.
Nexstar’s KXAN reached out to an attorney connected with Mitchell but didn’t immediately receive a response. KXAN also attempted numerous times to contact both Mitchell and his father, Don Wasek, however, phone numbers associated with both individuals were either disconnected or had voicemails disabled.
KXAN was able to reach a family member of the Waseks, but that person hung up the phone as soon as KXAN identified itself.
According to court records, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office received a telephone complaint in May alleging improper photography had occurred at a home on the banks of Lake Travis.
Travis Central Appraisal District property records list the owner of the multimillion-dollar home to be Donald E. Wasek, Mitchell Wasek’s father and a co-founder of Buc-ee’s.
A woman reported she and a few friends were visiting the lake house with Mitchell Wasek when one friend, who works cybersecurity for the Department of Defense, noticed a charging port with a hidden camera plugged into the wall of their bathroom, court records state.
The group of friends left with the camera and on its micro-card found dozens of videos of themselves and other people in bathrooms and bedrooms at the lake house as well as at Mitchell Wasek’s Dallas apartment, according to court records.
“They were unaware that the recordings existed in the bedroom and bathroom, and indicated they did not consent to being recorded or photographed,” the arrest affidavit states.
The woman informed TCSO that a police report was filed with the Dallas Police Department and that the camera and micro-card had been turned over to them, records state.
According to the affidavit, a warrant was obtained to review the contents on the camera and found 68 movie files containing at least 13 male and female individuals being recorded “using toilets, showering, changing clothes, and/or having sex.”
Additionally, the affidavit states the videos were found to have been recorded in multiple different locations dating back to 2021, which included a downtown Austin condo and a vacation home in Telluride, Colorado, both owned by Mitchell Wasek’s parents, according to property records. Amazon records also linked purchases of “spy cameras” to Mitchell Wasek.
According to court records, the complainants all reported Mitchell Wasek to be present at the time of the offenses but stated no other member of the Wasek family was there during these times.
If convicted, a State Jail Felony carries a sentence of not more than two years or less than 180 days confinement.