Orange County (FL) Air & Ground Units Use LoJack to Recover Stolen Acura, Bust Chop Shop, Arrest 1
- January 12, 2013
- recovery stories
On November 30, 2012, the owner of an Acura Integra contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to report that their vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of her apartment complex in the Pine Hills section of the county.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office verified the theft and entered the Acura’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle.
A short while later, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 unit picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Acura on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol vehicles. They were assisted by the Aviation Unit Helicopter. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computers, the deputies tracked the vehicle to Windermere Road in Windermere, Florida.
The Acura was located in the backyard of a private residence and was not visible from the street. However, it was visible from the air, and as the helicopter flew overhead, they observed a male working on a second car in the yard. The ground units immediately entered the yard and detained the male. The Acura was recovered and it was determined that the second car, a 1993 Honda Civic, was reported stolen two days earlier in the City of Orlando. When the officers arrived, the male was putting the finishing touches on changing the VIN of the 1993 Honda. He was arrested and charged with two counts of Auto Theft and operating a Chop Shop.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Acura Integra on July 1999 at Rosenthal Acura, VA.