LoJack System Helps Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Recover Stolen 2018 Jeep Cherokee within Minutes Taking One into Custody

  • April 23, 2019
  • Law Enforcement
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The owner of a 2018 Jeep Cherokee contacted the LAPD Harbor division to report her Jeep had been stolen.  The victim is a teacher at a local high school and had left her Jeep’s keys unattended on her classroom desk.  The victim was outside her classroom when she saw a male enter her Jeep and drive away.  LAPD Harbor division verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Jeep.

Only six minutes later deputies from LASD Century station picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Jeep 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 deputy tracked the vehicle and located it as it was being driven in the opposite direction he was traveling.  The deputy made a U-turn and pulled behind the Jeep.  The deputy requested assistance and waited for additional patrol deputies to arrive before conducting a felony stop.  When the deputies made contact with the suspect, he claimed someone gave him the Jeep thirty minutes prior, a subject he named.  The deputies contacted the victim, who stated she would be able to identify the suspect that took her Jeep.  Deputies brought the victim to the vehicle stop and the victim positively identified the suspect as the same person she saw take her vehicle.

The undamaged Jeep was returned to the owner and the suspect was arrested for the theft of the Jeep.  It was later learned the suspect was on parole for robbery.  The deputies contacted his parole agent and had a parole hold placed on the suspect.

The LoJack® System was installed in the Jeep Cherokee in July 2018 at Puente Hills Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Puente Hills CA.