LoJack System Helps TRAP Recover Stolen Toyota Tacoma and Uncover an Active Chop Shop.
- February 28, 2019
- Law Enforcement
The
owners of a 2004 Toyota Tacoma contacted the LAPD 77th station to
report their Toyota had been stolen.
LAPD
77th verified the theft and entered the
vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which
automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed
in the Toyota.
A short while later investigators from the Los Angeles County auto theft
taskforce, TRAP, picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota with their portable LoJack Police
Tracking Computers (PTC). The investigators were in the city of South Gate on
another investigation when they picked up the signal from the stolen Toyota.
Following the directional and audible cues from the PTC, the Taskforce
for Regional Auto Theft Prevention (TRAP)
investigators tracked the Toyota to a truck parts business in the city of South Gate. The investigators conducted a business check
at the location. During the course of their business inspection they located
the stolen Toyota, along with three other stolen trucks. They were a 1998 Chevrolet, 2000 GMC and a
2013 Dodge. None of which were LoJack equipped and all three had been
stripped. The stolen LoJack equipped
Toyota had not been stripped as it had been located prior to the suspects
having time to strip it. The
value of the three other stolen vehicles was estimated to be $35,000 by TRAP
investigators. TRAP investigators recovered all four stolen vehicles.
During the course of their investigation the investigators found a number of people living at the location illegally. They also learned it was an unlicensed business and were unable to determine who the owner was. TRAP investigators contacted the city of South Gate and had the location shut down for business. TRAP will be following up to determine the responsible parties for the business.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota Tacoma in August 2004 at Puente Hills Toyota, Hacienda Heights CA.