Victim's Friend Stole Her Identification, Credit Cards and Nissan — Arrested for Grand Theft Auto
- May 22, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 23, 2012, Los Angeles Police Department’s Air-3 helicopter began to pick up a silent LoJack signal on the aircraft’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. After querying the “Reply Code” appearing on the computer display against the police stolen vehicle database, the flight officers were notified that they were tracking a black 2009 Nissan Cube reported stolen earlier that day to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Carson Station.
Following the directional signals on the computer display, the flight officers directed LAPD’s Southeast Division’s ground units to the vehicle’s location. Ground officers observed the Nissan, being driven by one female suspect, with a male passenger inside. They noticed that the vehicle had been freshly painted silver, and that the license plates attached belonged to a 2005 Chevrolet. The officers requested back-up; when the requested units arrived, they conducted a high-risk traffic stop and took the two suspects into custody.
The officers’ investigation revealed that the female suspect knew the victim, somehow got a spare set of keys made and stole her vehicle. The suspect then painted the vehicle and switched license plates to conceal the identity of the vehicle. The suspect was also in possession of several of the victim’s credit cards – which she had used to charge items – and the victim’s identification, both of which had been left inside the stolen vehicle. The female suspect was arrested for Grand Theft Auto; the passenger was questioned and released. Southeast detectives are conducting the follow-up investigation.