San Antonio Police Recover 2 Stolen Miller Welders, Discover Other Stolen Vehicles/Equipment at Scene
- April 5, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of March 5, 2012, the construction company renting two 2011 Miller welders reported them stolen to the University of Texas at Arlington Police Department. UT Arlington officers prepared a stolen equipment report and had the welders’ information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the equipment. 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.
The following day, a San Antonio Police Department helicopter picked up the silent LoJack homing signal from the stolen welders on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in their aircraft. Following the directional cues on the tracking computer, the flight officers located one of the welders, attached to a pickup traveling south of San Antonio. The helicopter followed the stolen welder to a house in southeast San Antonio and directed ground units to the residence. When the patrol officers arrived at the scene, they received consent from the homeowner to search his property. Officers were able to recover both welders stolen from UTA, as well as several other pieces of stolen equipment: two trailers and a generator with the serial numbers missing, a motorcycle with a stolen motor, and a stolen 4-wheeler. The homeowner claimed that he purchased the welders at a flea market in San Antonio.
This remains an ongoing investigation, with arrests pending.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the equipment at the owner’s request on November 10, 2011.