Roommate wouldn’t respond to texts, so he hid a camera, South Miami police say

A South Miami man faces a felony video voyeurism charge after police say he hid a camera in his roommate’s bedroom nightstand and secretly recorded him.

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Dylan Hugh Long, 21, told officers who arrested him Tuesday at the University of Miami campus that he spied on his roommate inside their Southwest 37th Avenue apartment because he wanted to confirm the roommate read text messages that had gone unanswered, according to police.

The roommate noticed the camera, which emitted a blue light, in the middle compartment of his nightstand, around 10 a.m. Sept. 12, Long’s arrest report states. The roommate confronted Long, who denied installing the device before heading off to class, according to the report.

The roommate then plugged the camera in and saw several videos of Long inside the bedroom testing out the device, according to the report. In total, there were 49 recordings on the camera, some that showed the roommate walking to his shower, the report states.

Later that day, Long texted his roommate saying he wanted to discuss the matter, according to police. They had a meeting with another roommate, during which Long admitted to placing the camera in the nightstand, police say.

“Long stated that he placed the device inside the bedroom because [the roommate] had not responded to his text messages,” a detective wrote in the report.

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Both of Long’s roommates told him to leave for the weekend, the report states.

After investigating the incident, police arrested Long around 11 a.m. at 1300 Campo Sano Avenue on the UM campus, according to the report. After officers read him his rights, he repeated the explanation that he hid the camera in his roommate’s room because he “wanted to confirm that [the roommate] was reading his text messages,” the report states.

Long was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on felony video voyeurism and burglary charges and was released after posting a bond at $2,600. A judge also ordered him to stay away from his roommate, according to court records.

He entered a written plea of not-guilty. His attorney, Matt Shafran, sent a statement to the Miami Herald saying that his client “maintains his innocence and looks forward to addressing these allegations through the appropriate legal process”

“What occurred was not voyeuristic in nature, and we believe this situation has been significantly misunderstood,” Shafran said.

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This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 1:18 PM.