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04-17-2009, 12:42 PM
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Boynton Beach Webcam Burglary Leads to Arrests
A Boynton Beach, Florida, woman watching a home webcam from her Fort Lauderdale office in April 2009 spotted two strangers in her living room and stayed on 911 as police arrested two men at her house. Jeanne Thomas, 43, had installed the $250 camera after her house was burglarized the previous fall. She was at her desk at Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale, more than 20 miles from home, when she logged into the live feed that morning and noticed someone inside, according to police and published accounts of the case. "It was the strangest feeling," Thomas said. "I had a feeling something wasn't right. When I went on, I saw a person standing in my house." She remained on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, describing the intruders' movements as Boynton Beach police converged on the property. Police said Curtis Williams, 20, and Steven Morales, 19, had gotten inside through a pet door at the back of the house. Eighteen officers surrounded the home within minutes, and Williams and Morales were arrested there. Two more suspects, Scott George and Jonathan Cruz, both 20, were taken into custody at a nearby residence and accused of helping plan the burglary. The camera recorded one of the men taking a bag of shredded cheese from the refrigerator and eating it. The group gathered up a flat-screen television and a video game console, among other items, without noticing the small camera, which was disguised to look like an air freshener. All four suspects were charged with burglary of a dwelling and attempted grand theft, police said. Thomas and her husband, Tony, told reporters they had known Cruz for years; Tony Thomas had given him rides as a child. Boynton Beach police released the surveillance footage from inside the house, and the video drew national attention to the case.
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