Camera

A family’s weekend trip to St. Joseph County came with an unfortunate welcoming party. While parked at a hotel, the Christensen family of East Lansing, Mich., had their car broken into. Stolen was a digital camera, a video recorder and the family’s videos of their baby’s first moments: Christmas, walking, talking and more. "The parking lot was full," said Megan Christensen, who stayed with her family at the Comfort Suites, 52939 Indiana 933, on Friday night, "but we parked in a good spot.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A webcam set up to monitor a San Diego seal colony around the clock has captured two women harassing the animals. KFMB-TV reports the "seal-cam" caught the women kicking the seals, pulling their flippers and flashing lights at them at Children's Pool in La Jolla. The camera was unveiled last month to capture the winter birthing season. It has infrared capability to capture seals giving birth at night. The chairman of the Western Alliance for Nature, which streams footage from the camera on its website, said the women's behavior drove the seals off the beach.

A LaPorte county family has been wondering all week who launched a bunch of balloons with a camera that mysteriously landed on their Rolling Prairie farm. There was no name or contact information with the camera, but on Friday, someone came forward. Whatever it was that drifted over the community of Rolling Prairie, settling in the Tibbs' pasture in the middle of the night late Sunday, had caused quite a stir. The horses were clearly upset. “They did not like it all,” said Helen Tibbs.

GALIEN, Mich. - Imagine allowing a good friend to stay at your home for several years, then finding a camera hidden in the bathroom your children use.  Police say it happened to a Galien family. Investigators say 35-year-old Joseph Shoemaker was trying to capture inappropriate images and conversations, possibly of the three young boys living in the home, and he's now facing felony charges because of it. Shoemaker was good friends with the man and woman who allowed him to stay in their Galien home for the past 4 or 5 years, but police say he took advantage of that friendship.

SOUTH BEND - A man accused of planting a camera in a women's restroom at the University of Notre Dame appeared in St. Joseph Superior Court today, where he asked the judge to continue his case until September. Don Steinke, 58, was an assistant registrar at the university when he allegedly placed a pen-sized camera in a women's restroom stall in a campus office building, according to prosecutors. On March 7, a woman found the camera hidden on the floor, aimed at the toilet, according to prosecutors.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Monroe County police have arrested a community college student they say slipped a camera phone underneath a women's restroom stall. The Herald-Times reports Michael Eric McCoy was booked into the county jail Tuesday on a preliminary felony charge of voyeurism and remained there on Wednesday. Chief Deputy Mike Pershing tells the newspaper officers were called to Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington Tuesday after an employee reported that when she was in the restroom, a hand reached under the stall with a camera phone.

PICAYUNE, Miss. (AP) — A man caught naked in a south Mississippi church cemetery says he was trying to take photographs of spirits. Robert Hurst tells The Picayune Item newspaper that he shed his clothes because he believes skin is the best canvas to show spirits' orbs of energy. The 47-year-old says he only intended to remove his shirt, but he took off all his clothes — a move he now calls "stupid. " Authorities had set up a motion-activated camera to try to catch vandals.

SAO PAULO (AP) - A Brazilian player was taken to a police station after using a photographer's camera stand to hit an opponent during a brawl in a regional championship match in northeastern Brazil. Television images showed reserve Aguia midfielder Alexandre Carioca striking Remo defender Aldivan in the back as players from both teams in the Para state professional tournament shoved each other near the sidelines following a heated ball dispute. Carioca then picked up the monopod stand near him and came running to hit Aldivan as he bent down to tie his bootlaces.

Elkhart Police want to find the suspect in Monday morning’s robbery of Key Bank, 1320 Middlebury St. The black male suspect came into the bank at 11:42 a.m. wearing a black sweater, faded blue jeans and a bandana around his nose and mouth. In one surveillance photo released by police, the suspect’s eyes are clearly seen as he glanced at the camera. Police believe the suspect may have gotten into a silver passenger car after leaving the bank.

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY - Police have arrested a school custodian they believe planted a camera inside the men's pool locker room at Penn High School.  Robert Troup, 53, of Mishwaka faces preliminary charges of manufacturing child pornography and voyeurism. Police served a search warrant at Troup's home and collected some evidence on Thursday evening. They removed some computer equipment at that time to help with their investigation. Troup refused to talk to investigators.

TAKE A LOOK: This is extremely powerful video. A man reportedly catches the Texas fertilizer explosion on-camera. WARNING: There is an expletive near the end of the video. The explosion occurs half-way through the clip.  

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A webcam set up to monitor a San Diego seal colony around the clock has captured two women harassing the animals. KFMB-TV reports the "seal-cam" caught the women kicking the seals, pulling their flippers and flashing lights at them at Children's Pool in La Jolla. The camera was unveiled last month to capture the winter birthing season. It has infrared capability to capture seals giving birth at night. The chairman of the Western Alliance for Nature, which streams footage from the camera on its website, said the women's behavior drove the seals off the beach.

A Dowagiac man accused of filming a 17-year-old family friend in the shower, maintaining a marijuana grow operation and other crimes has been found guilty of 10 felonies. According to trial testimony, in July of 2012 the girlfriend of 57-year-old James Heidenreich found a DVR in his jacket pocket containing hidden camera footage of a 17 year old - a close family friend and frequent guest - undressing for a shower in Heidenreich's master bedroom. Heidenreich was recorded by the camera while starting and stopping the video.

A LaPorte county family has been wondering all week who launched a bunch of balloons with a camera that mysteriously landed on their Rolling Prairie farm. There was no name or contact information with the camera, but on Friday, someone came forward. Whatever it was that drifted over the community of Rolling Prairie, settling in the Tibbs' pasture in the middle of the night late Sunday, had caused quite a stir. The horses were clearly upset. “They did not like it all,” said Helen Tibbs.

GALIEN, Mich. - The man accused of hiding a camera in a bathroom shower at his friends' home on Wednesday admitted he did it. 35-year old Joseph Shoemaker had been staying with the family for several years and admitted he hid the camera in the bathroom and a recording device in the Galien couple's bedroom. Three children lived there, too. Shoemaker pleaded guilty to eavesdropping and taking or distributing pictures of people without their clothes. He will be sentenced next month.

GALIEN, Mich. - A Berrien County man accused of hiding a camera in the shower of a home is expected in court Friday. A woman says she found the camera between two shampoo bottles in a bathroom used by her three sons, ages 10, 12 and 14.  Joseph Shoemaker, 35, of Galien is charged with eavesdropping and "capturing an image of an unclothed person. " Police are trying to figure out how long the camera was there, and if it recorded anything else. The family says Shoemaker was a friend they let live with them.

GALIEN, Mich. - Imagine allowing a good friend to stay at your home for several years, then finding a camera hidden in the bathroom your children use.  Police say it happened to a Galien family. Investigators say 35-year-old Joseph Shoemaker was trying to capture inappropriate images and conversations, possibly of the three young boys living in the home, and he's now facing felony charges because of it. Shoemaker was good friends with the man and woman who allowed him to stay in their Galien home for the past 4 or 5 years, but police say he took advantage of that friendship.

WSBT Reporter Kelli Stopczynski is following this breaking story and will have much more tonight at 5 and 6 p.m. on WSBT. UPDATE New details were revealed in court Wednesday in the federal case against Robert Troup, the former Penn-Harris-Madison school janitor accused of hiding a video camera in the boy's swimming pool locker room. The prosecution is alleging Troup put a camera in the boy's swim team locker room during winter break, in December 2010.

A federal grand jury indicted a former Penn-Harris-Madison custodian accused of putting a camera in the boy's swimming pool locker room on child pornography production charges.  Robert Troup, 53, was a janitor at five P-H-M schools over the course of 21 years. The school corporation fired him last December after allegations surfaced against him.    Troup pleaded not guilty to the federal child porn charges in federal court Wednesday. A prosecuting attorney told the judge the camera captured 20 videos showing 43 naked boys walking to and from the showers.

Monday will be the first day back at school for students at River Valley Middle & High School in Three Oaks since a video camera was found rolling in the girl's locker room.  Cyndi Ursprung, the school's assistant principal, tells us that the camera was found Friday. It only rolled for less than a class period and only caught blurry video of the floor.  It was found by three girls. A male student at the school has been suspended. Ursprung says the student confessed to police, who say they will release more information tomorrow.