LoJack® System Helps Los Angeles Police Department Recover Stolen Honda Civic
- November 16, 2015
- recovery stories
The owners of a 1998 Honda Civic contacted the Tustin Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen. 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 Honda.
A short while later officers from the Los Angeles Police Department Newton Division picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Honda 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 tracked the Honda northbound on Avalon Blvd and as they reached 56th St, they observed the stolen Honda backing up into a driveway of a private residence in the 700 block. The officers approached the driver and detained him without further incident. During the field investigation, the suspect told the officers he borrowed the Honda from his cousin, however could not provide them with his name or address. He told them that his wife was on the front porch and asked them to verify his story with her. Upon contact with the suspect’s wife, she informed them she had never seen the Honda prior to that date and her husband had been gone for three days after being released from the LA County jail for Grand Theft Auto. The officers further learned the suspect was on Felony Probation for Auto Theft. A broken Ford key that was found in the ignition was booked into evidence. This case was forwarded to the Station Detectives for filing.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Honda Civic in September 1998 at Norm Reeves Super Store in West Covina, California.