Emmy-winning photojournalist arrested in secret-camera case at Oklahoma City station

An Emmy-winning photojournalist entrusted to document public life was arrested in Oklahoma City after police say he hid cameras in a television station dressing room, a case that cuts straight to the ethics of newsroom access and the public’s trust in image-makers.

Darrell Lee Vannostran, 40, of Moore, was identified as the former News 9 employee in the case. KWTV, the station tied to the arrest, is owned by Griffin Media and is also known as News 9. Oklahoma City police said the hidden cameras turned up in the station’s dressing room areas after janitorial staff found the devices. One report said the cameras were found in both the men’s and women’s dressing rooms.

Investigators contacted Vannostran at the station on April 2, 2026. Police said he acknowledged that he knew the hidden cameras had been found inside the building. Reporting also said he told investigators he worked with the type of equipment recovered and had access as the supervisor over the company’s photography and videography department. After being identified as a suspect, he exercised his right to an attorney.

One report said Vannostran was booked on a felony charge for use of photo or video equipment in a clandestine manner in a private place. Another said he was being held in the Oklahoma County Jail on a $25,000 bond. The allegation lands especially hard because it involves a newsroom employee whose job depended on public trust, access and discretion, not covert surveillance in a private space.

The case also echoes a string of similar Oklahoma hidden-camera incidents that have drawn concern in recent years, including cases involving bathrooms, dressing rooms and locker rooms. For photojournalists and newsroom managers, that is the damaging part: one alleged abuse does not just stain a single employee, it makes every legitimate camera operator work harder to earn access that audiences once granted automatically.