LoJack System Helps Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force Recover Stolen Toyota Sequoia within Minutes of Activation One in Custody
- March 8, 2019
- Law Enforcement
The
owners of a 2004 Toyota Sequoia contacted the Tucson Police Department to report
that their vehicle was stolen from their residence with the keys. The owner left the vehicle running while they
went back inside the residence to retrieve something that they forgotten. The Tucson
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 Toyota.
Nine minutes later, deputies from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and
detectives from the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force picked up the silent LoJack
signal from the stolen Toyota 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 deputies and auto theft detectives tracked the vehicle
to area of 12th Avenue and Drexel Road in Tucson.
The
auto theft detectives observed the stolen Toyota unoccupied in the parking lot
of an apartment complex. There were several subjects in the area, so
auto theft detectives conducted surveillance on the vehicle. A short time later a suspect got into the
stolen Toyota and drove to another location where he was taken into custody
without incident. The suspect stated
that he knew the vehicle was stolen, but was not the one that took it. The suspect was arrested and booked. The vehicle was recovered in good condition
and returned to the owners.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota Sequoia in October 2004, at Precision
Toyota of Tucson, Tucson, Arizona.