LoJack® System Helps Fresno Police Department Recover Stolen Honda Civic
- April 19, 2016
- recovery stories
The owner of this Honda contacted the Mendota Police Department to report that their vehicle had been stolen. The owner had left the Honda running in his driveway while going back into his home to get something. When he came out the Honda was gone. The Mendota 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 Honda.
A few hours after the LoJack was activated, officers with the Fresno Police Department picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Honda with the LoJack Police Tracking Computer (PTC) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the officers tracked the Honda to a shopping mall complex in north Fresno where the unoccupied Honda was observed parked in parking stall. Officers retreated and began surveillance of the Honda. About 30 minutes later an adult male, female and a child approached the Honda; the male began placing items in the trunk. Officers converged and detained the subjects. The male suspect was found to be in possession of the keys to the stolen Honda. During questioning he admitted knowledge that the Honda was stolen. He claimed to have gotten it from a friend and had used it all day to drive his girlfriend and their child around town shopping. The girlfriend was unaware that the Honda was stolen. The male was arrested for vehicle theft and possession of stolen property. The girlfriend and child were released at the scene.
The Honda was recovered intact and undamaged; it was stored pending release to the owner.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Honda Civic in February 2003 at Sunnyvale Volkswagen in Sunnyvale, California.