LAPD Air & Ground Units Using LoJack Recover Stolen Toyota Corolla, Arrest 2 Suspects
- September 20, 2012
- recovery stories
On August 26, 2012, the owners of a 2009 Toyota Corolla contacted the Los Angeles Police Department’s Central Division to report that their vehicle was stolen from a parking structure near their residence. LAPD verified the theft and entered the Toyota’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle.
Minutes later, LAPD “Air 18” flight officers picked up the silent LoJack homing signal from the stolen Toyota on the Police Tracking Computer installed in their air unit. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computer, the officers tracked and located the Toyota, parked at a motel in the area of the 9400 block of Sepulveda Boulevard. Patrol officers, who were also tracking the Toyota, responded to the motel. The officers detained a female suspect who was standing beside the vehicle and had tossed a key as the officers approached. The officers located the shaved key and then arrested the suspect, a runaway from Washington State, for auto theft-related charges. A male suspect, who was identified by the female suspect, was also taken into custody. The vehicle, valued at $13,125, was recovered and impounded for safekeeping.
The detectives reviewed the surveillance video tape received from the parking structure and observed that a vehicle entered the parking area with the license plates covered. Soon afterwards, they observed the victim’s vehicle exit the location, followed by the suspect’s vehicle.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Toyota Corolla on March 3, 2012 at Carson Toyota in Carson, California.