Mercedes Benz Stolen in San Diego Recovered in El Cajon, One Suspect Arrested
- April 30, 2012
- recovery stories
On March 12, 2012, the owners of a 2006 Mercedes Benz SLS-500 discovered that their vehicle had been stolen and immediately reported the theft to the San Diego Police Department.
San Diego officers completed a stolen vehicle report and had the Mercedes’ information entered into the California state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Mercedes. Neither the owners nor law enforcement agents had to take any further action to initiate the tracking of the Mercedes, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
Within a few hours, officers with the El Cajon Police Department began to pick up the Mercedes’ silent LoJack signals on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol cars. Following the directional and signal strength cues on the computers, the officers located the abandoned Mercedes in an area near the parking structure at the Grossmount Shopping Mall. The officers contacted investigators from the Regional Auto Theft Unit; the investigators quickly responded to the scene and set up surveillance on the vehicle. Before long, the investigators observed two individuals enter the vehicle; the investigators quickly surrounded the Mercedes and arrested one suspect for vehicle theft. This remains an ongoing investigation.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Mercedes Benz SLS-500 seven years ago, in November 2005. The current owners were thrilled when the police called them and advised that the vehicle was recovered undamaged and they would be able to drive it home.