LoJack® System Helps Albuquerque Police Department Recover a Stolen Hyundai Elantra, One in Custody.
- November 23, 2018
- Law Enforcement
The owner of a 2011 Hyundai Elantra contacted the Albuquerque Police Department and LoJack Call Center to report that their vehicle was stolen. The owner advised the Hyundai was stolen from her apartment complex parking lot. The Albuquerque 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 Hyundai Elantra.
Shortly after the activation, flight officers with the Albuquerque PD in Air5 picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Hyundai with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in their patrol vehicles and aircraft.
Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the flight officers determined the Hyundai was mobile. The flight officers relayed information to ground units of the Hyundai’s location. The Hyundai came to a stop at a motel parking lot and the driver remained inside of the vehicle. As marked units approached the parking lot the Hyundai left the area at a high rate of speed. Rather than engaging in a risky pursuit ground units disengaged and Air5 took over surveillance.
The flight officers observed the Hyundai pull over along the road, the driver exited and walked towards the I-25 frontage road. Ground units responded and made contact with the driver who was now walking along a fenced construction job site on the frontage road. The offender did not want to chat with the officers and decided to make a leap over the fence and into the construction site to evade capture. However, the officers gave chase on foot resulting in a speedy apprehension of a winded offender.
The Hyundai was recovered and processed for evidence. The driver door lock was damaged and the ignition was destroyed bypassing the need for a key to start the engine. The Hyundai was towed from the scene for safe keeping and will be returned to the owner at a later time. The offender had a chat with detectives and was subsequently booked into the Metro Detention Center.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Hyundai Elantra in April 2018 at CarMax #7194 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.