LoJack® System Helps Philadelphia Police Department Recover Stolen Toyota Corolla
- April 18, 2016
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2009 Toyota Corolla contacted the Philadelphia Police Department to report that their vehicle was missing from the area of their residence in the northwest section of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia PD Radio dispatched a uniformed officer who quickly arrived on location, interviewed the complainant and surveyed the area for the stolen Toyota. When the Toyota could not be located, the officer prepared a stolen vehicle report and arranged for the vehicle information to be entered into the state and federal crime computers. This entry automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the stolen Toyota.
Minutes later, a detective assigned to the Philadelphia PD Major Crimes Auto Squad was conducting an unrelated investigation in the area of 9th and Roosevelt Blvd. The detective reported to police radio that the LoJack Police Tracking Computer (PTC) assigned to the unmarked police vehicle picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the detective tracked the LoJack signal to the area of West Philadelphia. The detective soon observed the Toyota occupied driving in the area of 39th Street. The detective pulled in behind the Toyota and observed that the vehicle appeared to be following a white Dodge pickup truck. The detective informed Philadelphia PD Radio of the situation and a Philadelphia Police Highway Patrol Unit in the area came to the detective’s assistance. When the Dodge truck and the Toyota came to a stop at a traffic signal, the detective and the marked Highway Patrol vehicle activated the emergency lights on the police vehicles and indicated for the drivers to pull the vehicles to the curb. At this time the occupants of both vehicles exited the vehicles and attempted to flee the scene. The occupants of the Toyota were apprehended and placed under arrest. Investigation revealed that the Dodge truck had been stolen earlier in month and the operator of same was subsequently identified. This incident remains under investigation by the Philadelphia PD Major Crimes Auto Squad and further arrest(s) are anticipated.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota Corolla in February 2009 at Hoffman Toyota in West Simsbury, Connecticut.