LASD Ground and Air Units Locate Stolen Honda Civic — Car Chase Leads to Arrest
- April 30, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 7, 2012, the owner of a 2006 Honda Civic contacted the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Lakewood Station to report the vehicle stolen.
LASD deputies completed a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Honda’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the Honda, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
A short time later, officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Air-24 aircraft picked up the Honda’s silent LoJack signal on their aircraft’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer in the area of Grand Avenue the 60 Freeway. The flight officers directed California Highway Patrol Santa Fe Springs officers to the area, and the ground officers located the unoccupied vehicle just north of the 60 Freeway and Central Avenue. The officers set up brief surveillance on the vehicle, and four minutes later, a woman entered the vehicle and drove away, traveling eastbound on the 60 Freeway. The CHP officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the female driver failed to yield. Officers chased the vehicle seven miles to Archibald Avenue; the driver exited the highway, stopped the vehicle, and was taken into custody without further incident. Officers questioned the suspect, who admitted to stealing the vehicle. She was later booked for vehicle theft and other related felony charges. The officers recovered the undamaged Civic, and later released the vehicle to the grateful owner.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Civic at the owner’s request at Auto Land in July 2006.