Pembroke Pines Officer Stops Stolen Dodge Caravan, Arrests Driver for Theft, Outstanding Warrants
- July 1, 2012
- recovery stories
On Friday afternoon, June 15, 2012, the owner of a 2005 Dodge Caravan van discovered that her car keys and van were missing. She contacted the Seminole Tribal Police Department to report the theft, and indicated that she suspected that some friends who were visiting might have stolen the van. The Seminole Tribal Police officers verified the theft and had the vehicle’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers, which activated the LoJack transponder in the stolen Caravan.
A short while later, an officer with the Pembroke Pines Police Department began to receive the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Caravan on the LoJack Police Tracking Computer installed in his patrol car. Following the directional and audible signal on the LoJack computer, the officer observed the vehicle pass him on Pines Boulevard in front of the mall. The officer made a U-turn and began following the van until back-up units arrived. Once they did, the officer performed a felony stop on the van in a parking lot in the 7000 block of Pines Boulevard. The suspect was arrested for Grand Theft Auto, driving with a suspended license, and for a warrant from Hendry County. The vehicle was recovered, released to the owner at the scene, and removed from state and federal computers.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Dodge Caravan on May 18, 2005 by University Dodge – Davie, Florida, and has been protecting it ever since.