Man charged with illegal taping in South Barrington movie theater

The incident recalled that scene from "Seinfeld," where Kramer entices Jerry to videotape movies for him.

But nobody was laughing, certainly not the Hoffman Estates man arrested Friday on charges of video piracy at the AMC South Barrington 30 theaters at 175 Studio Drive.

Police arrested 32-year-old Gerardo Arellano, of the 200 block of Grissom Lane, Friday after they responded to a report of a man using a video camera to tape "Hannah Montana: The Movie," said Assistant State's Attorney Adam Klugman.

Police charged Arellano with computer fraud, criminal use of a motion picture facility, online sale of stolen property and unlawful use of a sound recording device, Klugman said. A Cook County judge set Arellano's bond at $20,000 Monday. He has no criminal background.

Also arrested was Arellano's wife, 32-year-old Maribell Fernandez, who admitted to bringing the camera and giving it to her husband. She was released on her own recognizance.

A search of the defendants' home yielded 44,000 DVDs and CDs, along with duplicating equipment and labeling equipment, Klugman said. Upon contacting the Motion Picture Association of America, a filmmakers advocacy group, South Barrington police learned the organization had initiated its own investigation of Arellano in connection with a Web site that delivered first-run movies to people in exchange for a $60 membership fee, Klugman said. He added that the MPAA had traced the Web site to Arellano's home computer.

If convicted, Arellano faces three to seven years in prison. He next appears in court May 1.