LAPD Uses LoJack to Recover Stolen BMW, Arrest Parolee for Theft, Drugs, Re-Encoded Credit Cards
- December 29, 2012
- recovery stories
On December 2, 2012, the owner’s of a 2007 BMW X3 contacted the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division to report their vehicle had been stolen.
LAPD officers 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.
A short while later, flight officers from the Glendale Police Department’s “Air-1” picked up the BMW’s silent LoJack homing signal on the Police Tracking Computers (PTCs) installed in their aircraft. Following the directional and audible signals on the PTC, the officers tracked the vehicle to the 400 block of Myrtle Street, where they observed the unoccupied vehicle parked on the street.
A patrol officer responded to the area and verified the BMW as the one reported stolen to the LAPD. Two uniformed officers responded with an undercover unit, and maintained surveillance on the BMW. After a brief period, the suspect returned, entered the vehicle and drove away. Officers converged upon the vehicle and stopped the vehicle, taking the lone suspect into custody without further incident. The suspect was identified as a parolee: he was also found to be in possession of narcotics and re-encoded credit cards. Additional officers assisted in a parole search of the suspect’s residence and discovered that he was in possession of personal information of other people which could be used in obtaining re-encoded credit cards. The suspect was taken to the Glendale jail and booked for numerous felonies. A parole hold was placed on the suspect in addition to the felony charges.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the BMW X3 at Assael BMW Mini in Monrovia, California on September 26, 2007. The estimated value of the recovered vehicle is $26,350.