Whittier Police Track Stolen Camry to Motel — ID Suspects by Surveillance Video, 2 Arrested
- April 30, 2012
- recovery stories
On April 7, 2012, the owner of a 1999 Toyota Camry contacted the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Pico Station to report the vehicle stolen.
LASD deputies completed a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Camry’s information entered into the state and federal crime computer systems. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the Toyota, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
Minutes later, officers from the Whittier Police Department were on routine patrol when they picked up the Camry’s silent LoJack signal on their patrol car’s LoJack Police Tracking Computer. Following the directional and signal strength cues on the computer, the officers tracked the vehicle southbound on Painter Boulevard from Whittier Boulevard to Lambert Street, where they located the vehicle, parked at a local motel.
Officers established surveillance on the vehicle, and within an hour, made contact with the hotel’s manager. The manager provided the officers with the motel’s surveillance video; upon review, the officers determined that the individuals who were driving the Camry were inside Room 202. The officers made contact with the two individuals, and located a shaved key on one of the suspects. The second suspect was in possession of another set of keys, which the police determined matched the Camry. One of the suspects admitted to stealing the vehicle; the other suspect had outstanding warrants, and was also taken into custody. Both were booked for the vehicle theft and additional charges.
The original owner of this vehicle had the LoJack Vehicle Recovery System installed by Toyota of Buena Park in November, 2002.