Tuesday, May 29, 2012
oddly enough
Wis. theft victim uploads video of suspected thief
MILWAUKEE
A Wisconsin man whose camcorder was briefly stolen has found a way to get back at the suspected thief: He uploaded a video to YouTube that the suspect took with the camera, a clip in which the man reveals his name, shows his face and admits he stole the camera.
Chris Rochester, 25, of La Crosse, said his camera was stolen a few weeks ago from the car of his boss, Republican state Senate candidate Bill Feehan. Police eventually recovered the camera and returned it to Rochester, who set it aside.
Then, when Gov. Scott Walker made a recent visit to La Crosse, Rochester used the camera to film the event. When he went back to retrieve the video, he found 20 other segments the suspect apparently recorded.
Most were uneventful, generally 15- to 20-second clips of television screens. But one video caught Rochester’s eye.
“This is my house, yes, and a stolen camera that I stole. But it’s OK, the cop won’t figure it out,” the suspect says in the 79-second video, as he pans around a home and points out the kitchen and bathroom. Later he adds, “Oh yeah, to introduce you, my name is Houaka Yang. So yeah, how do you do.”
Finally, he turns the camera to reveal his face and says with a smile, “And this is me. Hi.”
Rochester said he almost disregarded the videos on his camera, thinking maybe he’d accidentally hit the record button.
“Then it hit me pretty quickly as to what it was,” he said. “I was astounded. I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this.’”
Yang already was in custody, but Rochester decided to have fun with the video by sharing it with friends. So he uploaded it to YouTube under the title “Confessions of a stupid criminal: Thief is sure he won’t get caught.”
Associated Press