Colorado Police Agencies Aid in Arrest of Dangerous Suspect for Theft of Stolen Ford Explorer
- March 19, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of February 7, 2012, there was a heavy snowstorm in Denver. While a local couple was warming the engine of their 2002 Ford Explorer, an opportunistic thief took advantage of their carelessness and stole their vehicle.
As soon as the victims discovered the theft, they contacted the Denver Police Department to report the crime. After completing a stolen vehicle report, the Denver officers had the Explorer’s information entered into the nationwide law enforcement stolen vehicle computer system. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Explorer. Neither the owners nor law enforcement agents had to take any further action to activate the LoJack system, as LoJack is the only theft recovery system that is directly operated by law enforcement, and its interface is both seamless and instantaneous.
Just minutes later officers with the Lakewood, Denver and Auraria Police Departments received the silent homing signals coming from the stolen Explorer on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol cars. After querying the LoJack code appearing on the PTC display screens, the officers received a full description of the Explorer. Following the directional and signal strength cues on the PTC, Lakewood officers promptly located the stolen vehicle in the area of Northeast Lakewood. As police converged upon the vehicle, the driver attempted to evade officers by driving away at a high speed. However, he quickly lost control of the Explorer and collided with a snow bank. Again, he attempted to resist arrest, but was subdued by officers using a tazer. The suspect was jailed on Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft and drug charges. The Ford suffered minor damage.
This Ford Explorer had been installed with the LoJack Vehicle Recovery System at the owner’s request in January 2002.