Video: Florida couple watches in real-time as crooks rob them

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – These days we can do everything on our phones – even busting the bad guys.

For one South Tampa couple, it was the shock of a lifetime. They couldn’t believe it. The wife was at work when her cellphone sent an alert: Someone was in her living room.

The motion sensor went off, and the woman received a message. What happened next still has her on edge. On her phone, she saw three young men in her living room. They were bold and brazen, casually walking around inside. They had no idea that across town, they were being watched in real time

The couple did not want to give their names or show their faces, but they were inspired to share their story with others.

“I was panicked,” the wife told WFLA. She says she never thought something like this could happen.

At that moment, she reached for her secret weapon waiting in the wings – a piercing alarm. She activated it on her cell phone.

The video shows the men taking off through the same window they had come in through moments earlier. They got away with an iPad.

What’s interesting about this case is that the crooks inside never even saw the camera. It was a piece of furniture disguised as decoration. It was secretly detailing every single second.

“This saved us from losing even more than we did,” the husband said. “We were able to get them out of our house and within minutes, they were gone.”

Right after the alarm went off, the wife then called 911. The cops came quickly, but the crooks were gone. At that point, it didn’t matter because they left behind the one clue that sealed their fate – their faces on surveillance.

One of the thieves was caught, while two others are still out there. “I just didn’t know why they were in my house,” the wife said. “If they needed money, they should get a job.”