LoJack Recovery of Stolen Toyota Tundra Puts Two Prolific Car Thieves in Jail
- January 15, 2012
- recovery stories
On January 4, 2012, the owner of a 2006 Toyota Tundra was working delivering newspapers when he stopped for a cup of coffee and left the engine to his vehicle running. While he was inside the coffee shop, the suspects jumped into the Toyota and drove off. The victim immediately contacted the Lodi Police and reported the theft.
Lodi Police responded to the scene, prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Toyota’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Toyota and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
Less than 30 minutes later, officers with the California Highway Patrol and the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office began to receive the silent LoJack signal emitting from the stolen Toyota on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers installed in their vehicles. Following the computer cues, the officers tracked and located the Toyota, parked and abandoned at the rear of an apartment complex in Lodi. The officers contacted the San Joaquin Delta Ratt Auto Theft Task Force, who responded and set up a surveillance of the vehicle in hopes of catching the thieves.
Several hours later, two suspects entered the vehicle and began to drive away. Task Force members conducted a felony stop and took a male driver and female passenger into custody. The male driver had been arrested two months prior for auto theft and is awaiting trial on that case. The female is currently on parole for auto theft. Investigators questioned the male suspect, who admitted to stealing four other vehicles in the past two weeks. He led the officers to three other vehicles that had not yet been recovered. The suspect stated he specifically looks for vehicles that are left running during the early morning hours.
The stolen Toyota was returned to the owner so he could complete his paper delivery.