LAPD Air-3 Tracks Stolen Toyota Corolla, One Suspect Arrested for Vehicle Theft & Narcotics
- February 7, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of January 22, 2012, LAPD Air-3 flight officers were on patrol when they began to receive a silent LoJack signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in their aircraft. When the officers queried the reply code with the stolen vehicle computer databse, they were informed that the signal was coming from a 1998 Toyota Corolla that had been reported stolen to the LAPD Northeast Division.
Following the computer signals, the officers tracked the vehicle into the Hollenbeck Division, where they spotted the Toyota in the area of Phelps and Lynnfield. There, they observed a male suspect enter the Toyota and drive off. Air-3 followed the signal, and alerted ground units in the area of the vehicle’s direction of travel. When the vehicle reached Navarro and Castalia, the suspect sped up in an attempt to avoid the approaching ground unit. A chase ensued through several parking lots; when the suspect reached a fast food restaurant, he slowed the vehicle and jumped out. Officers then followed the suspect on foot through an alley, where the suspect threw down the backpack he was carrying and scaled a wrought iron gate at the rear of the 3700 block of Pueblo.
Responding officers sealed off the area, and LAPD Metro Canine officers responded to conduct a systematic search. The suspect was found hiding under a residence; after numerous attempts to get the suspect to surrender, the officers ultimately sent Canine BONO into the location to force him out. The suspect was taken into custody without further incident, and later booked on numerous felony charges, including narcotic charges. A stolen laptop computer was discovered in the backpack, along with narcotics.