San Joaquin Officers Recover Stolen Ford F350 Pickup, Take Two Suspects into Custody
- April 21, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of March 21, 2012, the owner of a 2004 Ford F350 pickup discovered that his vehicle was stolen sometime during the previous night, and contacted the Stockton Police Department to report the theft.
The responding officer completed a stolen vehicle report and had the Ford’s information entered into the California state and federal crime computer databases – a routine police action that automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. Neither the owners nor law enforcement had to take any further action to activate the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System, because LoJack’s interface with law enforcement is both seamless and instantaneous.
Less than 30 minutes later, an investigator with the San Joaquin Auto Theft Task Force (Delta RATT) began to receive the silent signal from the Ford pickup. Following the directional and signal strength cues from the onboard LoJack Police Tracking Computer in his undercover vehicle, the investigator located the pickup, parked in a parking lot in an industrial area. The investigator requested other units to assist with surveillance of the vehicle, with the hope of catching the thieves.
Within an hour, the investigators observed two males subjects enter the vehicle and drive away. A marked Stockton police unit then conducted a felony stop on the stolen pickup and both suspects were taken into custody without incident.
The victim was contacted and responded to the scene to take possession of his vehicle.