Canine "Guenther" Apprehends Thief of BMW, Following Car and Foot Chase
- April 5, 2012
- recovery stories
On March 12, 2012, the owner of a 2012 BMW 325 reported the vehicle stolen to the city of Costa Mesa’s Police Department. After completing a stolen vehicle report, Costa Mesa officers had the BMW’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder hidden within the BMW. 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.
Within minutes, the Anaheim Police Department received a telephonic report that the BMW Assist GPS was detecting the vehicle in the area of Harbor Boulevard and Ball Road. Units responded to that area but were unable to locate the vehicle. However, at the same time, both the Anaheim Police Department’s Air-Angel helicopter and a Canine officer picked up the BMW’s silent LoJack signal in the area as well. The Canine officer tracked the signal to a service station, where he located the vehicle.
As units converged upon the station, a male suspect entered the vehicle and drove away. The driver attempted to evade the officers, entered a hotel parking lot, crashed through a gate and struck a parked vehicle. The suspect then jumped from the vehicle and began to flee on foot. The Canine officer gave several warnings that he would release his dog; when the suspect did not comply, the canine, “Guenther” jumped from the police vehicle and apprehended the suspect as he was climbing a gate. The suspect was taken into custody and later booked on several outstanding felony charges, as well as an outstanding Felony Warrant for Burglary.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the BMW at BMW South County in November 2011.