LoJack® System Helps Philadelphia Police Department Recover Stolen Cadillac STS
- February 9, 2016
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2005 Cadillac STS reports that he was dining in the western section of Philadelphia when he was approached by an unknown male. The male had a conversation with the complainant and then they both walked to the unknown male’s vehicle which was parked outside the dining establishment. When the complainant approached the vehicle, a second unknown male exited the vehicle and pointed a handgun at the complainant. The two unknown males then demanded the complainant’s clothing, cell phone and keys to the complainant’s vehicle. After taking the items from the complainant, the unknown males fled in the complainant’s vehicle.
The complainant called 911 and the Philadelphia Police Department Radio dispatched a uniformed officer to investigate the incident. The officer quickly arrived on location, interviewed the complainant and provided the description of the perpetrators and the stolen vehicle to police radio. Police radio then continued to broadcast this information to police in the western section of Philadelphia. The complainant was taken to the Philadelphia PD Southwest Detective Division where a detective was assigned to the investigation. The assigned detective interviewed the complainant and arranged for the stolen vehicle information to be entered into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Cadillac. The assigned detective insured that the stolen vehicle alarm included the information that the Cadillac was taken by point of gun to alert officers to use caution when making contact with the subject vehicle.
Minutes after the LoJack activation code had been broadcast, the 12th District uniformed police officers picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Cadillac 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 signal to a residential area of Southwest Philadelphia. The officers observed that the Cadillac was parked at the curb and cautiously approached same. The officers discovered that the Cadillac was unoccupied and then placed the vehicle under surveillance. After the surveillance had negative results, the Cadillac was confiscated and towed to the Philadelphia PD Tow Squad HQ to be processed for physical evidence.
This robbery remains under investigation by the Philadelphia PD Southwest Detective Division.
The LoJack® System was installed in the 2005 Cadillac STS in October 2004 at Ed Morse Cadillac in Delray Beach, Florida.