LoJack System Helps California Highway Patrol Northern Division Air Operations Orland Police Department and California Highway Patrol Investigative Services Unit Recover 2004 Melroe Bobcat Skid Steer and Arrest Suspects Two ATVs Recovered After Search Warrant is Served.
- March 6, 2019
- Law Enforcement
A commercial
landscaping construction company contacted the Sacramento Police Department to
report that a 2004 Melroe Bobcat skid steer had been stolen from a job site in
the 3500 block of Auburn Boulevard. The machine had last been seen at the site
four days prior. The Sacramento Police Department verified the theft and entered
the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which
automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed
in the Melroe Bobcat.
A short while later, officers with the California Highway Patrol Northern Division
Air Operations Unit in a helicopter were flying over Interstate 5 just south of
Orland when they were alerted to the stolen Bobcat by the silent LoJack signal received
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 stolen Bobcat was tracked to an
address in the 3900 block of Highway 99 West, where it was observed behind the
residence along with several other vehicles. The California Highway Patrol
Northern Division Investigative Services Unit was notified, and a vehicle theft
investigator began preparing a search warrant for the location. While this was
occurring, the suspects left the location with the stolen Bobcat on a flatbed
trailer. The suspects drove into the
city of Orland where a sergeant received the LoJack hit on the PTC in his
patrol car. The Bobcat was tracked was
observed by Orland PD officers being towed.
A traffic stop was made on the suspects at 6th Street and
Walker Street and the two suspects were taken into custody. The stolen Bobcat
was recovered and the trailer it was on had its vehicle identification number
removed. CHP investigators served the
search warrant at the original location and recovered a stolen 1990 Suzuki
Quadrunner and a 2016 Honda Four Trax Foreman ATV.
The LoJack® System was installed in the 2004 Melroe Bobcat skid steer in April 2004, for the commercial customer. This is the second recovery after a theft of this vehicle via the LoJack Stolen Vehicle Recovery System.