LoJack® System Helps Philadelphia Police Department Recover Stolen Toyota Highlander
- May 26, 2016
- recovery stories
The owner of a 2014 Toyota Highlander is employed at a restaurant in the center city Philadelphia area. The Toyota owner reports that he finished work and discovered that his vehicle had been stolen from the parking space on Spring Garden Street. A call was placed to 911 and the Philadelphia Police Department Radio dispatched an officer to investigate the incident. The officer quickly arrived on location, interviewed the complainant and then surveyed the area for the Toyota. When the Toyota could not be located, the officer prepared a stolen vehicle report and arranged for the stolen vehicle information to be entered into state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack® System concealed in the Toyota Highlander.
Minutes after the broadcast of the LoJack activation code, an officer from the Philadelphia PD East Division 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 officer tracked the signal to a parking lot in the area of Somerset Street. The officer cautiously approached the Toyota and observed one male who appeared to be asleep in the driver’s seat. The officer notified police radio of the situation and other officers came to assist. The male was awakened, removed from the Toyota and placed under arrest without incident. A search of the male subsequent to arrest revealed that the key to the Toyota was in the perpetrators right front small pocket.
The perpetrator was transported to the Philadelphia PD East Detective Division where a detective was assigned to the arrest. The perpetrator was charged with violations of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code related to theft. Police notified the Toyota owner regarding the recovery and arrest. The Toyota owner then took possession of his undamaged vehicle.
The LoJack® System was installed in the Toyota Highlander in April 2014 at Toyota of Turnersville in New Jersey.