Miami-Dade Police Recover Stolen Mercedes SUV, Arrest Suspect, with Help of LoJack
- September 21, 2012
- recovery stories
On Friday morning, August 25, 2012, the owner of a 2008 Mercedes-Benz R-350 SUV discovered their vehicle missing from their Leisure City, Florida home and contacted the Miami-Dade Police Department to report it stolen. Miami-Dade officers verified the theft and had the Mercedes’ information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder in the vehicle.
A short while later, an officer with the Miami-Dade Police Department picked up the silent LoJack homing signal from the stolen SUV on their on-board LoJack Police Tracking computer (PTC). Following the directional and audible cues on their PTC’s screen, the officer, along with backup, located the Mercedes, backed into a parking space in a parking lot, in the 11200 block of S.W. 231st Lane, a residential area of Princeton, Florida.
Auto theft detectives responded to the scene and established surveillance on the stolen vehicle. Before long, a suspect entered the stolen SUV and attempted to drive away. The officers performed a “felony stop” on the vehicle and apprehended the suspect. Further investigation revealed that the suspect had been walking through the Leisure Village neighborhood, trying car doors, and got lucky, finding the valet key to Mercedes-Benz R-350 sport utility vehicle.
The vehicle was recovered, released to the owner at the scene, and removed from federal and state crime computer systems. The suspect was arrested, transported to the Miami-Dade Police Department’s district office for further investigation and processing, and then moved to the Dade County Jail.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Mercedes-Benz R-350 sport utility vehicle on April 25, 2008 at Mercedes Benz of Pompano in Pompano Beach, Florida and has been protecting it ever since.