LASD Air & Ground Units Recover Stolen BMW 330I, Arrest Suspect After Car/Foot Pursuit

On July 5, 2012, the owners of a 2006 BMW 330I contacted the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Pico Rivera Station to report that their vehicle was stolen from the street at their residence. LASD deputies verified the theft and entered the BMW’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle.
Within minutes, LASD’s Air-24 picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen BMW on the Police Tracking Computer installed in their patrol airship. They notified the Huntington Park Police Department of the vehicle’s location. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computers, Air-24 and ground officers tracked the signal to the area of Santa Fe Street and Florence Avenue. There, they observed the vehicle being driven by one male suspect. The officers attempted a high risk traffic stop, but the suspect sped away. A short time later, the suspect stopped the vehicle and fled on foot, but officers located him hiding under a house and he was taken into custody. The suspect had the keys to the vehicle. The suspect was arrested for Driving without Owners Consent and a variety of other charges.