LoJack System Helps Chicago Police Recover Stolen Lexus RX 330 with Two Taken into Custody Less than an Hour After Activation
- March 6, 2019
- Law Enforcement
The
owner of a 2004 Lexus RX 330 contacted the Chicago Police Department to report
that his vehicle had been stolen from a gas station at 8200 S Kedzie Avenue in
Chicago’s Ashburn neighborhood after he left it running and went inside to pay
for his gas. Chicago Police verified the
theft and entered the vehicle information
into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Lexus.
Twenty seven minutes later officers from Chicago’s Engelwood District picked up
the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Lexus 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 officers, tracked the vehicle and observed it in traffic. The
officers discreetly followed the vehicle from a distance and called for backup.
The tracking officers observed the stolen Lexus pull over to the curb at 7218 S
Union Avenue in Chicago’s Engelwood neighborhood.
Along with responding back up the officers approached the stolen vehicle
blocking it in at the curb. The driver and a passenger attempted to exit the
vehicle and flee but were immediately taken into custody. The suspects on scene
stated they had borrowed the car from a friend. Video tape surveillance was
recovered from the gas station which showed the same two suspects in custody as
the ones who entered the open and running vehicle at the gas station. The
suspect driving the stolen Lexus was charged with Possession of a Stolen Motor
Vehicle and the passenger with Criminal Trespass to Vehicle.
The stolen Lexus was driven to the Engelwood District where it was reunited with a grateful owner less than an hour after it was reported stolen. The stolen Lexus RX 330 was recovered undamaged, before it could be stripped, cloned, re-tagged, or used in a crime.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Lexus RX 300 in February 2008 at McGrath Lexus in Chicago, Illinois.