Three Juveniles Steal 83-Year Old’s Honda Civic in Atlanta After Pretending to Help
- May 3, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 6, 2012, an 83 year old woman contacted the Georgia State Capitol Police to report that her 2004 Honda Civic had been stolen. She stated that she was lost in Atlanta and stopped to ask three young men for directions. They replied that it would be easier to drive her there in her car, and the woman agreed. When they arrived at her destination, the owner entered the building, and the juveniles took off in her car. Thankfully, she had a LoJack Vehicle Recovery System installed in the Honda the previous year.
The Georgia State Capitol Police completed a stolen vehicle report and had the Civic’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the Honda. Neither the owner nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the hidden transponder, because LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
A short while later, a Dekalb County Police helicopter, equipped with a LoJack Police Tracking Computer, began picking up the Civic’s silent LoJack homing signal. The flight officers followed the directional and signal strength cues on the tracking computer and quickly located the Honda at a gas station, where the suspects had stopped for gas. The air unit, along with Georgia State Patrol vehicles, observed the suspects ready to pull out of the station; when the suspects saw law enforcement closing in, they jumped from the vehicle and fled on foot. After a brief chase, all three suspects were apprehended, arrested and charged with the theft of the woman’s Civic.
The retired school teacher was thrilled that her vehicle was recovered in good condition, and that she was not harmed in any way during the theft.