Suspect Stole GMC Envoy With Engine Running — Covina Police Recover Vehicle, Arrest Suspects
- June 9, 2012
- recovery stories
On May 8, 2012, an officer from the Covina Police Department was just leaving his station when he began to pick up a silent LoJack homing signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer (PTC) installed in his patrol vehicle. After querying the reply code appearing on the PTC against the police computer database, he was informed that the signal was emitting from a 2004 GMC Envoy reported stolen minutes earlier to the Whittier Police Department.
Following the directional and signal strength cues on the PTC, the officer tracked the stolen Envoy northbound in the area of Citrus and Front Streets. As he traveled, he observed the vehicle two cars in front of his patrol car. He followed the vehicle for several blocks until back-up units arrived, at which time they performed a high-risk traffic stop on Cypress Street. The female suspect was detained without further incident.
The suspect was questioned and told the officers that she was walking by the YMCA in Whittier when she observed a man exit his vehicle and enter a building. She saw that the vehicle’s engine was running, and she decided to take it and pick up a male friend. Both the female and male suspects were arrested and transferred to the Covina Police Department for further investigation. The female suspect was booked for Driving Without Owner’s Consent, and the male suspect was later released to his parent.