LoJack Helps Multiple Colorado Police Agencies Recover Stolen Jeep, Arrest 2 for Theft, Fraud
- March 28, 2013
- recovery stories
On February 13, 2013, the owners of a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee contacted the Colorado Springs Police Department to report that their vehicle had been stolen.
Colorado Springs Police verified the theft and entered the vehicle information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the SUV. LoJack is the only theft recovery system that is directly operated by law enforcement and this interface is seamless and instantaneous.
A short while later, officers with the Fountain Police Department, the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Colorado State Patrol and the Southern Colorado Motor Vehicle Theft Task Force picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Jeep with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs) that are installed in patrol vehicles and aircraft. The LoJack PTC provides officers with on-board information which permits them to locate the stolen vehicle quickly and with an increased margin of safety.
Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack PTCs, the officers tracked the vehicle to the parking lot of a large retailer in Colorado Springs. The vehicle was found, parked and unattended. Investigators had the marked patrol vehicles leave the area and a covert surveillance of the Jeep was initiated, as they believed the thieves were inside the store. Their patience and tactics paid off when two persons exited the store and entered the Jeep. Officers moved in and both were arrested for Felony Theft by Receiving (for possession of the stolen Jeep). They were also found to be in possession of many credit cards and items of personal identification belonging to other persons, typical of suspects who commit crimes of identity theft, retail theft and fraud. This investigation is continuing.
The Jeep, valued at $17,000, was recovered undamaged and was returned to the very happy owners.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Jeep at Spradley Chevrolet, Inc. in Pueblo, Colorado.