Toyota 4Runner Stolen in Armed Robbery Recovered, 2 Arrests in New Orleans
- January 18, 2012
- recovery stories
On the evening of January 8, 2012, the owner of a brand-new 2012 Toyota 4-Runner parked and secured his vehicle for the evening. When he entered his residence, he was robbed at gun point of his personal property and car keys; the thief then fled in his new Toyota. The victim contacted the New Orleans Police Department to report the robbery and auto theft.
New Orleans Police responded to the scen, 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 an hour later, deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office received the silent homing signals from the stolen Toyota on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) installed in their patrol car. Following the computer cues, the deputies tracked the signal along the West bank of Jefferson Parish. The deputies observed the suspects parking the stolen vehicle near an apartment complex in Terrytown. The deputies quickly apprehended the suspects; the driver was arrested for possession of the stolen 4-Runner, while the passenger was arrested for possession of stolen property belonging to the victim. The New Orleans Police detectives were called to the recovery scene; the follow-up investigation yielded enough evidence to charge the suspect with armed robbery and auto theft.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System had been installed in the Toyota 4-Runner just four days before the theft.