LoJack® System Helps Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Recover Stolen BMW 335i
- October 7, 2015
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2009 BMW 335i had just witnessed the BMW being stolen as a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officer drove into the convenience store parking lot on South Boulevard. The victim reported to the officer the BMW had been left running, with the keys in the vehicle while the owner went inside to purchase items. As the owner/victim finished paying at the inside counter, the owner saw a male in his 20’s wearing jeans and a du-rag sitting in the driver’s seat of the BMW. The victim attempted to open the door to the BMW but the suspect drove off, causing the victim to fall and a slight injury but not requiring medical attention. No other person(s) were reported to be in the BMW as it drove away. The victim further gave information an iPhone6 belonging to the victim was in the BMW when stolen. The CMPD officer obtained the victim’s username and password and an attempt was made to use the iPhone6 track app to locate the BMW initially while giving a broadcast out for the stolen BMW. The iPhone6 reported back to the officer the phone was off line. The CMPD Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) was requested to search the city camera system and other monitoring locations for the BMW by license plate and description. No vehicle fitting the stolen BMW was obtained at that time.
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 BMW.
A short while later officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen BMW 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 officers began to track the BMW and at about the same time the CMPD RTCC staff reported the BMW going through the intersection of Central and North Sharon Amity Road. As CMPD officers approached a filling station at Eastway and Shamrock, they saw the BMW speeding at a high rate of speed in the rain. No CMPD patrol units pursed the BMW but moments later an officer saw the BMW had wrecked nearby. Three passengers were seen fleeing and taken into custody. A search for the driver was made in the area without locating him.
An investigation continues, awaiting video from the convenience store and the identity of the driver. Results of the interviews of three persons caught fleeing will be reviewed by the District Attorney’s staff for charges.
The LoJack® System was installed in the BMW 335i in February 2008 by Nalley BMW in Decatur, GA.