Web Cam Catches Midwest City Burglary in Progress from Across the World

A woman in the Philippines saw more than she expected over a Web camera connecting her to her husband in the U.S.

Tuesday, October 6th 2009, 11:44 am

By: News 9


By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

MIDWEST CITY, Oklahoma -- A woman in the Philippines saw more than she expected over a Web camera connecting her to her husband in the U.S.

Officers were called to the Preston Park Apartments, 3800 block of N. Oakgrove, Saturday, October 3 to a burglary in progress. Officers found an apartment that had been broken into and detained a juvenile on the north side of the building who was attempting to leave the area. Another juvenile fled the scene on foot, but was later captured.

Jim Chouinard said his wife witnessed the burglary from a Web camera that's on 24 hours a day so the two can communicate while they are apart. While at work, Chouinard received a frantic phone call from his wife, Maribel. Chouinard said his wife told him, “I heard a noise, and looked at the screen. There are men in your apartment!”

Chouinard then called 911 and police arrived at the apartment within minutes.

Officers recovered most of the victim's property as well as property taken in other burglaries that occurred in the area. The Web camera was not found. Maribel was able to positively identify the suspects from a lineup via e-mail who were charged with burglary and subsequently booked and released to their parents and/or guardians.

"Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought a tiny Philippines woman on the other side of the world would be an eye witness to a crime in Oklahoma, much less solve a felony in progress from a completely different time zone," said Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes. "I don't think a Hollywood writer for one of the popular CSI shows could have scripted it better."

The Chouinards were just married last December and now the young couple has a story of a lifetime.

"We're both still in a bit of shock, but this will definitely be a story that we’ll remember the rest of our lives," Chouinard said.

Jim works as a flight chief for the Air Force and is based at Tinker. Maribel is expected to move to Oklahoma as soon as December.

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