Suspect Arrested for Theft of Toyota RAV4 After High-Speed Pursuit with Pasadena Officers
- June 30, 2012
- recovery stories
On June 13, 2012, the owner of a 2008 Toyota RAV4 contacted Pasadena Police Department to report their vehicle stolen from the driveway of his residence. Pasadena officers verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Toyota.
Minutes later, flight officers in the Pasadena Police Department’s-1 Helicopter picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota RAV4 on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers installed in their aircraft. Following the directional and audible signal on the LoJack computers, the officers alerted ground units that the vehicle was traveling through the streets of northwest Pasadena. PD-1 Helicopter followed the vehicle until it exited at Lake Avenue; ground units resumed the pursuit, following the vehicle for half an hour before the female driver realized that she was being followed. At that point, she sped up, and a brief pursuit ensued. At Navarro and Howard, the vehicle stalled and the officers converged upon the vehicle. The driver was taken into custody without further incident, and later booked on vehicle theft charges, and failure to yield.
Auto theft detectives have assumed the ongoing investigation. The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the $15,000 vehicle in June of 2008 in Puente Hills.