Neighbor Steals Cadillac CTS and Other Property — Arrested for Grand Theft Auto
- April 24, 2012
- recovery stories
According to sources, on Thursday evening, February 23, 2012, the owner of a 2009 Cadillac CTS 4-door sedan befriended a neighbor, who asked him to drive him around the neighborhood as he was new to the area. The “neighbor” asked the owner if he could stay the night with him. The owner agreed. The next morning when the owner awoke, he discovered that his neighbor was missing – along with his iPhone, laptop, car keys and his car. At that point, the owner contacted the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to report the theft.
Upon arrival at the scene, the responding officer met with the owner of the CTS. The officer prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the vehicle’s information entered into the federal and state crime computers. This routine police procedure automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Cadillac CTS.
Later that afternoon, a Miami-Dade Police Department officer received the silent LoJack radio signal from the stolen Cadillac’s LoJack unit, and began tracking it by following the directional and signal strength cues on their patrol car’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. Shortly thereafter, the officer observed the vehicle being driven westbound on Miami Gardens Drive. The officer waited until his backup units were in place and then turned on his emergency lights to get the vehicle to stop. The vehicle pulled over in the 1300 block of Miami Gardens Drive, where its occupants were immediately apprehended without incident. The occupants were ultimately arrested for Grand Theft Auto and for possession of an illegal substance. The vehicle was recovered, towed to the police impound yard for safekeeping, and removed from the police computer systems.
The LoJack Stolen Vehicle Police Recovery System was installed in this Cadillac CTS on September 13, 2011, and has been protecting it ever since.