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DA charges man who secretly taped nude women in Arroyo Grande gym

June 26, 2026

Kyle Combs

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office announced Friday that it filed charges against a Grover Beach man who allegedly secretly recorded nude or partially nude women inside the tanning and red-light therapy rooms at Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande. 

On Dec. 29, 2025, officers responded to Planet Fitness at 1576 W. Branch Street over a report of a male suspect caught recording a partially nude female in a tanning booth. Kyle Combs, 40, fled the scene before officers arrived, according to the Arroyo Grande Police Department.

Police served search warrants at Combs’s home and seized electronic devices that revealed more than 50 videos of female gym members inside the tanning and red-light therapy rooms. Combs would enter the locked tanning booth room and record females inside who were nude or partially nude without their knowledge. Investigators believe there are approximately 47 victims.

Combs secretly used a device to view or record women while they were nude inside standing tanning booths, the criminal compliant filed against him states.

Prosecutors charged Combs with 12 misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy. The offenses occurred between July 12, 2025 and Dec. 29, 2025, and involved 12 separate victims, according to the district attorney’s office.

Under current California law, allegations involving secretly recording multiple nude victims in private tanning booths can generally only be charged as misdemeanors, unless additional circumstances exist, the district attorney’s office stated in a press release. Since the alleged victims are adults, and Combs does not have a qualifying prior conviction, the alleged offenses can only be charged as misdemeanor.

“Secretly recording women while they are nude inside tanning booths is a deeply disturbing violation of privacy, dignity, and personal security,” District Attorney Dan Dow said in a statement. “People using a gym or fitness center should never have to fear that they are being watched or recorded in one of their most private moments. Our office will continue to work with law enforcement to hold offenders accountable and to seek justice for every victim.”

Officials ask that women who used the tanning or red-light therapy rooms at the Arroyo Grande Planet Fitness in 2025, and who have not yet spoken with investigators, contact Arroyo Grande Police Detective Brandon Earnest at (805) 473-5110 ext. 7021 or by email at bearnest@arroyogrande.org.

San Luis Obispo County Judge Erin Childs signed an arrest warrant and set Combs’s bail at $50,000. The SLO County Sheriff’s Office website does not currently list Combs as being in custody.

 


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2 Comments

Hopefully he won’t also get a sweet deal like the recent GALA embezzler and county probation employee got. At some point you actually have to hold criminals responsible.


3

I think it’s pretty difficult to draw a comparison between the two cases based on the fact.


In the GALA case, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution, which should be considered as part of the sentence. Additionally, the defendant agreed to a guilty plea and didn’t object to three aggravating factors. Generally speaking a DA is going to offer a lighter sentence in situations like that. The defendant is essentially helping the DA save resources by not forcing the time and expense associated with trial.


Additionally, I’d say this particular case is more akin to a sex crime whereas the former falls more on the “white collar” crime side of things. Personally, I hope this guy gets hit with a much heavier sentence but the cases are just too different to try and draw any meaningful comparison. Plus, as the article notes correctly (for once), these can only be charged as misdemeanors. Absent aggravating factors like a prior criminal record, which we don’t have here, I wouldn’t be too optimistic about a significant punitive sentence. Not saying the guy doesn’t serve a heavy sentence, he does, just saying we should be realistic here about the options the DA has.


3