LoJack System Helps Los Angeles Police Department Recover Stolen Ford Explorer
- August 24, 2017
- recovery stories
The owners of a 2016 Ford Explorer contacted the Santa Monica Police Department to report that their vehicle was stolen. According to the owner, the Ford Explorer was parked by a valet and was observed placing the vehicle keys on top of a tire. When the victim returned to get the Ford, it had been stolen. Officers from the Santa Monica 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 Ford Explorer.
Recovered Stolen Explorer – Arrest Made
A short while later officers from the Los Angeles Police Department Hollenbeck Division picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Ford 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 Ford to Cesar Chavez Avenue and Brittania and observed the stolen Explorer backing out of a driveway. They began following the Explorer broadcasting the direction of travel and requesting assistance from an air unit and additional ground officers. When they attempted to pull the Explorer over, the suspect fled the scene initiating a pursuit. The pursuit entered the freeway and as the suspect neared the off ramp of 7th St and 101, he lost control and hit a dirt embankment after almost hitting another vehicle. At that time the suspect fled on foot and with the help of an LAPD Air unit who directed ground officers, the suspect was apprehended without further incident. The suspect was later booked for Grand Theft Auto as well as other violations. The victim’s Ford was stored and later released.
The LoJack® System was installed in the 2016 Ford Explorer in April 2016 at Galpin Ford in North Hills, California.