Suffolk County Police Recover Stolen Camry and 2 Other Stolen Vehicles, Arrest Suspect
- January 20, 2012
- recovery stories
On January 10, 2012, the owner of a 1997 Toyota Camry parked and locked his vehicle on the street where he lives in Wyandanch, Long Island, confines of the Suffolk County1st precinct. When he returned to the vehicle, he found it missing and immediately called the Suffolk County Police Department, 1st Precinct.
Suffolk County Police responded to the scene, prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen Toyota’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Toyota and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
A short while later, the Police of the Suffolk County 1st Precinct picked up the silent LoJack signal from the stolen Toyota on the Police Tracking Computer in their patrol vehicle. Following the computer cues, they tracked the signal to a residential area of Deer Park, Long Island. There, they found the Toyota parked in a driveway of a private home. They set up surveillance on the vehicle for several hours; eventially, a man came out of the home and got into the Toyota. As he was backing out of the driveway, he noticed the police driving towards him. He immediately pulled the car back in the driveway, and tried to run back into the house, but the officers were able to apprehend him before he was able to do so. They placed the suspect under arrest for the stolen Toyota, and recovered the vehicle, which was in good condition, with only minor damage to the ignition and lock. The owner was notified, and was elated to know that his vehicle was recovered so quickly, with such minor damage.
During the subsequent investigation, the suspect led the officers to two other stolen vehicles, which the police also recovered.