San Francisco Police Use LoJack to Recover Stolen Honda Pilot, Arrest Suspect After Chase
- January 23, 2013
- recovery stories
On January 4, 2013, the owner of 2004 Honda Pilot was visiting friends in Moraga, California, when he left the SUV momentarily unattended with the key in the ignition. When he discovered the vehicle missing, he immediately contacted the Moraga Police Department to report the crime.
Moraga Police verified the theft and had the vehicle’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the vehicle. LoJack is the only theft recovery system that is directly operated by law enforcement and this interface is seamless and instantaneous.
For the better part of the afternoon, the stolen Honda SUV sped throughout the East Bay communities. That evening, a California Highway Patrol helicopter picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Honda with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. The LoJack PTC provides officers with on-board information that enables them to locate the stolen vehicle quickly and with an increased margin of safety.
The CHP helicopter alerted the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) that the stolen SUV was traveling west on the Bay Bridge. SFPD then tracked the stolen Honda to the Portola District in San Francisco. The suspect abandoned the SUV and attempted to flee on foot. SFPD officers quickly found the suspect and arrested him. Arresting officers reported that the suspect said, “I don’t get it. Everywhere I went, you guys kept finding and chasing me”.
The LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System was installed in this vehicle on January 10, 2005 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts at Atamian Honda. The vehicle was valued at approximately $18,000.