Dallas Police Recover Stolen Ford Pickup Rented with False Identification, 2 Suspects Arrested
- February 21, 2012
- recovery stories
On January 30, 2012, a woman went into a Home Depot store in North Richland Hills and rented a 2008 Ford F350 pickup using false identification. When the store discovered the fraud, they reported the theft to the North Richland Hills Police Department. After completing a stolen vehicle report, the officers had the vehicle information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Ford pickup. Neither the owner nor law enforcement had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery Network, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Twelve minutes later, Dallas Police Officers picked up the silent LoJack homing signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in their vehicle. Following the computer’s cues, the officers tracked the stolen pickup to a fast food restaurant in Mesquite, where they located the vehicle in the parking lot. After setting up surveillance on the vehicle, the officers observed a male suspect leave the restaurant and enter the stolen pickup on the passenger side. He grabbed a handbag from the front seat and began to walk back toward the restaurant; officers stopped him before he could re-enter the establishment. The handbag belonged to his girlfriend, who was found inside the restaurant, and detained by officers. They quickly determined that the girlfriend was the suspect who rented this pickup using false identification. The male suspect had outstanding felony warrants. Both suspects were arrested.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed at the previous owner’s request on October 11, 2007.