LASD Uses LoJack to Recover Stolen Cadillac Escalade, Arrest 1 for Drugs, Chop Shop
- February 9, 2013
- recovery stories
On January 13, 2013, the owners of a 2004 Cadillac Escalade contacted the Downey Police Department to report that their vehicle had been stolen.
Downey Police verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Escalade.
Minutes later, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Air-24 flight deputies picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Cadillac Escalade and tracked it to the 5200 block of Fostoria Street, in the city of Cudahy. As they arrived, they observed the Cadillac back out of a residential driveway and park across the street. A man exited the vehicle; when the deputies lit up the area with their Night Sun light, the suspect fled into the residence. Air-24 hovered overhead while deputies and detectives from LASD’s East LA Station responded to the location.
The police sealed off the location and the search team, including a canine, demanded entry. A man exited the residence, but was not the suspect seen by Air-24. Deputies and the canine entered the garage; the canine quickly located the suspect, who had hidden himself. The deputies obtained consent to search the house, and once inside, they located drugs, a stolen gun, bullet proof vest, and many of the car parts to the stolen Cadillac, which had been stripped of its interior. That suspect was arrested and charged with operating a “Chop Shop”, and possession of drugs and weapons.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Cadillac Escalade on August 22, 2005 at Rydell Cadillac. The vehicle is valued at approximately $18,650.