LoJack System Helps Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Recover Stolen 2013 Chevrolet Volt, with an Arrest.
- October 24, 2018
- Law Enforcement
The owner of a 2013 Chevrolet Volt contacted the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to report his Chevrolet had been stolen. Riverside County SD verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Chevrolet. A short while later an LASD airship picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Chevrolet 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 airship tracked the vehicle to a metal business in the city of Compton. The airship located the stolen Chevrolet in the enclosed yard area of the business and relayed the information to the LASD patrol officers responding to the location. The airship saw a male seated in the driver seat. The subject exited the Chevrolet and began removing the driver door. The airship also saw a female exit the front passenger door and watch the male removing the door. The patrol deputies arrived at the location and detained both subjects.
The deputies asked the male how he came into possession of the Chevrolet. The male initially claimed the owner of the metal business contacted him today and told him the Chevrolet was parked on the street in front of his business. The owner asked him to move the vehicle into the yard area and to remove a number of parts.
The deputies spoke to the manager of the metal business. He told the deputies the male subject is a friend of the owner and that he did not work for the business. He also told the deputies that the male had driven the vehicle to the shop the previous night, not today as he claimed. The manager called the owner so that the deputies could speak to him. The owner of the metal business said the owner of the Chevrolet contacted him earlier in the week to pick up his Chevrolet and take it to his shop. The metal shop owner didn’t elaborate on how the vehicle arrived at his business. The metal shop owner also claimed the male suspect removing the driver door from the stolen Chevrolet was not supposed to be working on the vehicle.
The deputies called the owner of the Chevrolet. The owner initially claimed he didn’t know the owner of the metal shop but changed his story and said he knew the owner. He told the deputies he contacted the metal shop owner to pick up his vehicle to make repairs. The metal shop owner was to pick up the Chevrolet a week from the current date but must have picked it up early without his knowledge. The owner then reported the Chevrolet stolen.
The patrol deputies recovered the Chevrolet, and arrested the male that was removing the driver door. The female was determined not to be involved. Investigators from LASD and RSD will follow up on the stories of the metal shop owner and the owner of the vehicle to determine if this was a possible insurance fraud case.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Chevrolet Volt in June 2016 at Anaheim Preowned Cars, Anaheim CA.