Palm Beach Flight Officers Aid in Arrest of Car Thief with Violent Past
- April 23, 2012
- recovery stories
On Wednesday afternoon, September 14, 2011, the owner of a 2008 Honda Accord sedan contacted the Boynton Beach Police Department and notified them that the vehicle had been stolen sometime between September 2nd and September 14th.
The responding officer completed a stolen vehicle report and relayed the stolen Honda’s information to the department’s Teletype section, which entered the data into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the Honda. Neither the owner nor law enforcement agents had to do anything else to activate the LoJack Vehicle Recovery System, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
Early the following morning, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s aviation unit, Eagle 1, began receiving the Honda’s silent LoJack signal near Lantana and Jog Roads. The flight officers began tracking the vehicle by following the directional and signal strength cues on their aircraft’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. PBSO K-9 and DUI ground units in the area also picked up the signal and began tracking it. They located the occupied vehicle in an alleyway. The deputies quickly arrested the Honda’s occupant for Grand Theft Auto and outstanding drug warrants. Investigation revealed the suspect’s violent past.
The Accord was recovered, released to the owner at the scene, and removed from the police computer systems. The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in this Honda Accord on December 5, 2008 and has been protecting it ever since.
UPDATE: In a plea agreement with the State Attorney, the thief was sentenced to 48 months in state prison.