Suspect Found with Stolen Tahoe’s Keys in Pocket; Arrested, Vehicle Recovered, by Fresno Police
- July 22, 2012
- recovery stories
On June 8, 2012 the owner of a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe contacted the Fresno Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen from a community center in southeast Fresno. The Fresno Police Department verified the theft and entered the vehicle’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Chevrolet Tahoe.
Just five minutes after activation, the flight crew of Eagle One, a Fresno County Sheriff’s Department helicopter, picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Chevrolet on the Police Tracking Computer installed in their aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computer, the flight crew tracked the vehicle to the vicinity of Orange and California Avenues in southeast Fresno. LoJack-equipped ground units from the Fresno Police Department converged upon the area and located the vehicle parked in front of a residence in the 1900 block of Fourth Avenue.
Officers made contact with two adult males that were sitting in front of the residence. While conversing with the two males, one implicated the other as the person that had driven the stolen vehicle to the residence. The male was detained and during a pat-down search, officers found the keys to the vehicle in his pocket. During subsequent questioning, the subject admitted involvement in the theft.
The vehicle was recovered intact and undamaged; it was released to the owner at the recovery scene. The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe in April of 2006 at the Rydell Auto Group in Northridge, California. This vehicle is valued at $26,000.