LoJack® System Helps Los Angeles Police Department Recover Stolen Ford Transit Van
- May 27, 2015
- recovery stories
A dealership and owner of a 2015 Ford Transit Connect contacted the Glendale Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen by use of a fraudulent sale. Officers verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Ford Transit Connect.
Within less than 1 hour from activation the Los Angeles Police Department officers from Northeast Division picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Ford with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Assisted by the LAPD Air-10 flight officers, they followed the directional and audible cues from the PTC and tracked the Ford to the 6000 block of Hayes Ave. where the officers located a Ford Transit Connect. When the officers ran the license plates, they came back to a Kia. Upon examining the Vehicle Identification Number, the officers confirmed it was the stolen vehicle. While at the scene, a witness came forward and asked the officers if they were looking for the driver. He then pointed to the residence of another resident and said the driver had driven up in the van and then entered that specific residence. The officers made contact with a male and made positive identification by the witness. This person was questioned and told the officers the van was his as he just bought it with the help of a friend who arranges it thru a Ford dealer. The dealership was contacted and informed the officers that the Ford had been purchased fraudulently using another person’s identity and credit. The recovered Ford was later returned to the victim dealership undamaged. The suspect was booked for a felony theft of a motor vehicle with priors.
The LoJack® System was pre-installed in the Ford Transit Connect in January 2015 at Star Ford in Glendale, California.