5 Stolen Vehicles — and Parts to 4 Other Stolen Vehicles — Recovered in LA Chop Shop Bust
- March 20, 2012
- recovery stories
On February 29, 2012, after the owners reported their 1994 Honda Accord stolen to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Norwalk Station, the vehicle information was entered into the statewide and nationwide stolen vehicle system (SVS/NCIC) computer databases. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owners 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.
Approximately one hour after the Honda’s LoJack system activated, LAPD Southwest Division officers picked up the LoJack signal from on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol vehicles. Following the computer’s directional cues, they tracked the Honda to the 4000 block of Broadway Place, where they observed the stolen vehicle parked in a fenced in dirt lot along with several other vehicles. When they observed a suspect exiting the lot, the officers quickly converged upon the suspect, detaining him.
LAPD officers notified Newton Division Detectives, who responded to the location along with a Detective from BAD (Burglary Auto Theft Division). Their subsequent investigation uncovered the stolen 1994 Honda Accord, along with multiple other stolen vehicles and parts – including a stolen 1997 Chevrolet Suburban, 1996 Honda Accord, 1996 Honda Accord, 1999 Acura Integra, parts from a stolen 1997 Chevrolet S-10 and the license plates to a stolen 2002 Chevrolet Suburban, 1994 Acura Integra and another 1997 Acura Integra.
Witnesses at and around the scene were able to provide the detectives with information about several people who had been working on the stolen vehicles, as well as the possible location of another Chop Shop. The suspect that was detained by the responding officers was questioned and released, pending additional investigation. Newton Detectives along with Detectives from BAD are conducting the follow-up investigation.