LoJack® System Helps Albuquerque Police Department Recover a Stolen Chevrolet Malibu Two in Custody
- February 15, 2019
- Law Enforcement
The owner of a 2018 Chevrolet Malibu contacted the Albuquerque Police Department to report their vehicle was stolen. The owner, an auto dealership, advised they had a customer who left their Chevrolet Cruze for crash damage repairs and the dealership provided the customer with the Malibu as loaner vehicle. The dealership advised they had completed the repairs for the Cruze and had asked the customer to return the Malibu. However, the customer kept the Malibu, snuck onto the dealership and took off with the Cruze without paying for the repairs. 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 Chevrolet Malibu.
Shortly after the activation, the Albuquerque PD Auto Theft Unit Detectives picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Malibu with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) that are installed in their patrol and undercover vehicles. Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the detectives tracked the LoJack signal to the area of 4th and Lomas.
Detectives observed the stolen Malibu in a parking lot across from the court house. A male subject was observed inside of the Malibu and he appeared to be wiping down the interior surfaces of the vehicle. There was a female subject in a Chevrolet Cruze parked with the engine running next to the stolen Malibu. Through surveillance the detectives determined both subjects were obviously together and contact was made. Detectives determined both vehicles were in fact stolen from the dealership and both were recovered. The two subjects were taken into custody and were walked across the street to be booked into the Prisoner Transport Center.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Chevrolet Malibu in September 2018 at Galles Chevrolet in Albuquerque, New Mexico.