LoJack Helps Huntington Beach Air & Ground Units Recover Stolen Toyota Camry, 2 Arrested
- February 9, 2013
- recovery stories
On January 17, 2013, the owners of a 2004 Toyota Camry contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) to report their vehicle had been stolen.
OCSD deputies verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Camry.
A short while later, Huntington Beach Police Department’s Air-HB-1 flight officers on patrol picked up the Toyota’s silent LoJack signal in the area of Springdale and Westminster. HB-1 radioed Westminster Police Department of the tracking, and along with LoJack-equipped units, located the parked and unoccupied vehicle in a large parking lot in the 16000 block of Beach Boulevard.
Westminster Police responded and set up surveillance on the Camry. Shortly thereafter, a man and a woman entered the vehicle. Police converged upon the vehicle, taking both suspects into custody without further incident. During the subsequent investigation, the officers learned that the vehicle had been unlocked, with a valet key inside, when it was stolen. The suspects were booked for Driving a Motor Vehicle without Owner’s Consent and Receiving Stolen Property. The undamaged vehicle was later released to the victim.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Toyota Camry on January 5, 2004 at Power Toyota in Irvine, California. The vehicle was valued at approximately $9,600.