Parolee Arrested by Compton Police for Theft of Toyota Camry Following Car and Foot Chase

  • August 17, 2012
  • recovery stories
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On July 22, 2012, the owners of a Toyota Camry contacted the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department to report that their vehicle was stolen from the street at a party in Compton, California. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department 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.

A short while later, Compton School Police officers picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Toyota on the Police Tracking Computer installed in their patrol vehicle. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computers, the officers observed the vehicle parked on the street in the area of the 700 block of Long Beach Boulevard. They observed a male suspect enter the vehicle and speed away. The officers attempted to conduct a high-risk traffic stop, but the suspect sped away.

A short time later the suspect stopped the vehicle and fled on foot, but was quickly found hiding in a Laundromat several blocks away. The officers’ investigation confirmed that the suspect had stolen the vehicle from the party, as he and was identified by the owner of the vehicle and several other witnesses. The suspect was on parole and wore an ankle monitoring device. The suspect was arrested for Driving Without Owners Consent and a variety of other charges.

The vehicle was recovered intact; the vehicle was valued at $1,800.

The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Toyota Camry in January of 1994 at Customer Direct in Los Angeles, California