Recovery of Stolen Mustang Saleen in San Diego Leads to Discovery of Chop Shop and Recovery of 3 Other Stolen Vehicles
- February 22, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of February 7, 2012, the owner of a 2001Limited Edition Saleen Mustang discovered that his car had been stolen from his home in Fremont, California. He reported the theft to Fremont Police, who, after verifying the theft and completing a stolen vehicle report, had the vehicle’s VIN entered into the California state and federal crime databases. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Mustang and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
Approximately an hour later — at about 10AM — Alameda County Auto Theft Force officers, equipped with LoJack’s On-Board Police Tracking Computers, picked up the silent LoJack tracking signal from the stolen Mustang. Following the computer cues, officers quickly tracked and located the stolen Mustang, parked on a residential street. As undercover officers were conducting surveillance on the Mustang, two suspects drove up in a Honda CRV; one climbed into the Mustang and drove off. The officers then tracked both the stolen Mustang and the Honda to a warehouse in Fremont. One suspect was taken into custody. After a search was conducted of the warehouse, an additional suspect was arrested.
The follow-up investigation revealed three other stolen Hondas in the garage. The CRV that was initially observed had been VIN-switched by the thieves, as had the other stolen vehicles in the warehouse. One suspect had a cloned key to the Mustang in his pocket.
The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Ford Mustang Saleen on March 1, 2001.