LoJack® System Helps Law Enforcement Recover Stolen 2007 Toyota Corolla
- June 3, 2015
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2007 Toyota Corolla 4-door sedan loaned their car to a “friend” to get a pack of cigarettes. The “friend” never returned with the Toyota. After attempting to contact the “friend” via cell phone 10 times and text messaging throughout the day, the owner determined that they needed to report the Toyota as stolen. The owner contacted the Edgewater Police Department to report that their Toyota was stolen. The responding officer prepared a stolen vehicle report, theft affidavit and had the vehicle’s information entered into the state and federal crime information computers.
The next morning while on routine patrol a Volusia County Sheriff’s Office auto theft detective sergeant picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Corolla on their on-board LoJack Police Tracking Computer (PTC). The dispatcher issued an area-wide BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for the Corolla. The detective began tracking the stolen Corolla by following the directional and audible cues on their PTC screen. An Ormond Beach Police Department officer located the Corolla parked in the parking lot of a hotel in the 1600 block of North US Highway #1. The auto theft sergeant and detectives from the Ormond Beach PD established surveillance on the Corolla. The surveillance team observed a subject exit a room and walk over to the stolen Corolla with the keys in their hand. The officers stopped and spoke with the subject. The sergeant, along with their backup, then spoke with the 2 other occupants of the motel room. One was identified as the “friend” of the owner. Contact was made with an Edgewater PD supervisor who advised that the suspect should be arrested. The “friend” was arrested and brought to the Ormond Beach PD for further investigation and processing.
The Corolla was recovered, towed to the police impound yard for safekeeping, and removed from state and federal crime information computer systems.
The LoJack® System was installed in the 2007 Toyota Corolla at Al Hendrickson Toyota in Coconut Creek, Florida in January 2007.