LoJack® System Helps Torrance Police Department Recover Stolen Nissan Murano

The owners of a 2007 Nissan Murano contacted the Redondo Beach Police Department to report their vehicle was stolen.  The day prior to the theft, the Nissan was broken into and the keys, along with several items, were stolen.  The victim had another vehicle parked behind the Nissan and the victim believed this prevented the Nissan from being stolen on that day.  The following night the suspect(s) returned to the Nissan and broke into the victim’s vehicle parked behind the Nissan and moved it.  This allowed the suspect(s) to steal the Nissan.

The Redondo Beach 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 Nissan.

Only 8 minutes later officers from the Torrance Police Department picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Nissan 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 Nissan to the area of 235^th and Arlington in the city of Torrance.  Officers saw a Nissan Murano without license plates drive past them.  As the Nissan drove past they saw a male with a baseball hat on backwards driving the stolen Nissan and a passenger in the front seat.  The officers attempted to catch up to the stolen Nissan but the vehicle sped up. The driver turned off the vehicle lights and made several abrupt turns.  The officers briefly loss sight of the Nissan but were able to continue tracking the Nissan with their PTC.  The officers located the Nissan abandoned in an apartment complex car port.  The officers searched the car port area and found a male wearing a baseball cap backwards hiding in an outside storage closet.  Officers also located a female walking in the same carport area and detained her.  Officers located two backpacks along the path leading from the stolen Nissan to where they located the male suspect.  Inside the backpack the officers found keys to the Nissan Murano and a wallet belonging to the suspect.  When officers searched the female suspect they found a handicap placard under her shirt belonging to the Nissan.  Both suspects were arrested and the Nissan was recovered.

The LoJack® System was installed in the Nissan Murano in February 2008 at AutoNation Nissan South Bay in Hawthorne, California.