LoJack® System Helps Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office Recover a Stolen Volkswagen Passat
- September 24, 2018
- Law Enforcement
A local auto dealership had two vehicles stolen overnight from their lot while the business was closed. The auto dealership contacted the Las Cruces Police Department to report the vehicles were stolen. The Las Cruces PD verified the theft and entered the vehicles’ information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Volkswagen Passat but unfortunately the other vehicle was not equipped with LoJack.
Approximately 30 minutes after the activation, deputies with the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Passat with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in their patrol vehicles. Deputies picked up the LoJack signal in the area of Interstate 25 at Mile Marker 5.
Following the audible and directional cues from the PTC, the Passat was tracked to a residential area of N Solano Drive and E Madrid Avenue. Deputies observed the Passat backed into a parking space in front of a mobile home. Contact was made at the residence and four subjects were taken into custody. Three of the subjects were found to have active warrants for their arrest.
Officers with Las Cruces PD responded to the recovery scene and took over the investigation as they were currently working leads on the initial theft. The dealership was notified of the recovery and they will take possession of the stolen Passat. Deputies advised if it was not for LoJack they might not have found the Passat as quickly as they did. The Passat did not have a license plate and it was backed into the residence obscuring its true identity from law enforcement. The other stolen vehicle from the dealership has not yet been located.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Volkswagen Passat in April 2015 at Volkswagen North Scottsdale in Arizona.