LoJack® System Helps Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Recover Stolen Toyota Camry
- January 28, 2015
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2007 Toyota Camry contacted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) to report that their vehicle was stolen from in front of their home. The owner had gone outside, started the Toyota and returned to the front porch to aid a family member to the car. The family member yelled to the owner, “They have your car”. The owner turned to see a male with dreadlocks jump into the Toyota and drive away. The male suspect had been seen getting out of another car and that car followed the suspect as they left the theft location off Highland Street in Charlotte.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Toyota.
A short while later the CMPD officers picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the CMPD officers tracked the Toyota to the Southside Homes complex off Fairwood Ave. The Toyota was located backed into a parking spot, locked, and without damages. The Toyota owner/victim came to the recovery site, unlocked the doors and allowed officers to remove property not belonging to the car owner. The property provided names, an address, and a suspect description matching the male who drove away in the Toyota. Walking the surrounding parking area, the CMPD officers recovered a second stolen vehicle, 2000 Honda Civic, stolen in a similar manner as the Toyota.
Interviews at the scene provided information the suspect had been seen going from and back into the address found in the Toyota. The CMPD conducted a knock and talk at the address. There the described suspect was found sitting next to table were the stolen Toyota keys. The suspect was taken into custody on charges of Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Larceny of a Stolen Vehicle. The suspect had three additional outstanding warrants served on him; Communicating Threats, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and Larceny of a Stolen Vehicle.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota Camry in February 2007 at Town and Country Toyota in Charlotte, North Carolina.