Westminster Police Use LoJack to Recover Stolen Ford Expedition + 2nd Stolen Vehicle, Arrest 2 Suspects
- December 29, 2012
- recovery stories
On a frigid afternoon on October 26, 2012, the owner of a 2005 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition contacted the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to report the vehicle stolen. Adams County deputies verified the theft and had the Ford’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Expedition, causing the transponder to emit a silent distress signal to local law enforcement officers.
Within minutes, officers with the Westminster Police Department picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Ford with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs) that are installed in police patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack PTCs, the officers quickly located the Expedition in an apartment complex parking lot off of Federal Boulevard. East Metro Auto Theft Task Force investigators, who were also monitoring the theft, then took control of the investigation.
Over the next several hours, the investigators observed the suspects who were responsible for the Expedition theft also bring a second stolen vehicle (a 2007 Mitsubishi Gallant stolen in Denver) into the same parking lot.
Two suspects were arrested by police. One had a loaded handgun in his waistband, the second suspect was on probation for auto theft.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in this Expedition in August of 2009 at Skyline Automotive in Thornton, Colorado.