‘Lake Tahoe Foot Fondler’ Mark Anthony Gonzales nabbed for allegedly touching toes of sleeping women

A brazen man with an apparent foot fetish who allegedly broke into a luxury Nevada resort on two separate occasions to cradle unsuspecting women’s feet as the victims slept is now in custody.

Mark Anthony Gonzales, 26, who is accused of being the infamous ‘Lake Tahoe Foot Fondler’, was arrested at his home in Atwater, California, on Tuesday, according to police.

Two women staying at the Club Wyndham South Shore hotel in Nevada each woke up at 4:30am on a Sunday and Monday, respectively, over the July 4th holiday weekend to find the creep “fondling their feet,” a statement from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office read.

“During the early morning hours between July 1-3, 2023, an adult male entered two Stateline resort condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors,” it continued.

“Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females.” 


Mark Anthony Gonzales
Mark Anthony Gonzales was arrested at his home in Atwater, California, on Tuesday.
KOLO 8

The intruder bolted out of the resort rooms through their exterior sliding screen door after his victims awoke to the terrifying ordeal.

“Each female awoke from their sleep as the subject was rubbing their feet,” cops said.

“Once awake the females confronted the male subject and he fled the scene.”

The suspect was later identified via forensic techniques as Gonzales, police added.

Following his arrest, Gonzales was booked into the Merced County Jail for two counts of Burglary and two counts of Battery.

Gonzales will be held in the Merced County Jail on a fugitive warrant with a bail of $50,000 until he is extradited back to Douglas County, Nevada police said.

“I am extremely pleased that my Investigators were able to identify, locate, and arrest this individual,” Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley said.

“These types of crimes are especially alarming to a community, and being able to make an arrest allows the victims and community to feel safe again.”

He is also suspected by law enforcement of trespassing and stealing women’s shoes in California — and pleasuring himself while in the act.

DCSO Investigators said Gonzales was already known to local law enforcement in the Atwater/Merced County where he was the suspect of numerous crimes, including the theft of women’s shoes, trespassing, and sexual self-gratification during some of these incidents.


Woman's feet
Following his arrest, Gonzales was booked into the Merced County Jail for two counts of Burglary and two counts of Battery.
Francisco J Ramos Gallego

It appeared to DCSO Investigators that Gonzales’ crimes were escalating in nature, police said.

The two women — who were strangers to one another — both were staying on the ground floor of the resort and likely left their screen doors unlocked, cops said.

Remarkably, the foot squeezer remained on the lam for weeks despite striking while law enforcement had deployed increased personnel for the Fourth of July.

Both the Douglas Sheriff’s Office and the Nevada State Police increased patrol personnel for the holiday weekend throughout the area, including Nevada Beach, the waterfront access point directly in front of Club Wyndham South Shore.

It was not immediately clear how much prison time Gonzales could face if convicted or if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

Representatives for the sheriff’s office and the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office could not immediately be reached by The NY Post on Wednesday.