LoJack System Helps California Highway Patrol Air Operations and Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force Recover 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS
- July 12, 2019
- Law Enforcement
The owner of a
2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS contacted the Alameda Police Department to report their
vehicle stolen. The Alameda 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 Camaro SS.
A short while later, officers with the California Highway Patrol Air Operations
Unit in a fixed wing aircraft were flying over Highway 13 in the city of
Oakland when they alerted to the stolen Camaro by the silent LoJack signal received
with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTC) installed in patrol vehicles
and aircraft. Following the directional
and audible cues from the PTC, the stolen Camaro was tracked to a residential
area in the 4800 block of Geranium Avenue, where it was observed parked at the
curb.
The Alameda County Regional Auto Theft Task Force responded to conduct surveillance in the hopes the suspect(s) would return. The task force has established a group of San Francisco Bay area Camaro thieves have been parking the stolen Camaros in quiet residential neighborhoods to wait and see if they are equipped with any type of tracking device, before moving them to a different location to be stripped. A covert GPS tracking device was placed on the Camaro to allow the investigators to immediately be notified of any vehicle movement.
In the late night hours, investigators received notification the vehicle was moving and was driving in the city of Hayward. As the investigators responded, the GPS signal was lost in a residential neighborhood. Upon arrival in the area, the investigators began receiving the signal from the LoJack on their PTCs and tracked the Camaro to a house on Utica Street. A search warrant for the residence was prepared and served. The undamaged stolen Camaro SS was found in the closed garage. An Electronic Control Module from a previously stolen Camaro was also recovered, as were an engine hoist and numerous tools, which were taken as evidence. A suspect has been tentatively been identified, and the investigation is continuing to obtain a criminal complaint. The stolen Chevrolet Camaro SS was recovered by the task force and towed/stored for safekeeping to be returned to the owner.
The LoJack® System was installed in the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS in August 2018, at Honda of Hayward, CA.