LoJack Helps Greenville, SC Deputies Recover BMW Stolen in GA — Chop Shop Busted, 1 Arrested
- March 30, 2013
- recovery stories
On February 26, 2013, the owner of a 2004 BMW 745-I reported the vehicle stolen to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Department. According to the owner, it was stolen from a parking lot in Augusta, Georgia. The Sheriff’s Department verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the BMW.
A short while later, deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department in South Carolina picked up the BMW’s silent LoJack homing signals on the Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol cars. Following the directional and signal strength cues on the LoJack computers, the deputies tracked the vehicle to a rural area of the county – specifically to a home with a shop behind the home, where the vehicle was located.
The officers called a detective to the scene after seeing that the shop had a number of tools and other parts that could be used to dismantle vehicles and that the stolen LoJack vehicle had already had the serial numbers changed from the time it was had been stolen a few hours ago.
The owner of the property was arrested for possession of the stolen BMW and other charges related to operating a chop shop; he was transported to the county detention center.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed at HBI.INC – UAG in Vienna, Virginia in May of 2007.