Estranged Son Steals Mother’s Saab — NYPD Officers Quickly Recover Undamaged Vehicle, Arrest Son
- April 21, 2012
- recovery stories
In late March 2012, the owner of a 2008 Saab 9-3 went on vacation to Florida. Before she departed, she parked and locked her vehicle on the street where she lives in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, and left her sister as the custodian of her vehicle. On the morning of March 21, 2012, her sister came outside, found the vehicle missing, and immediately called the New York Police Department’s 60th Precinct to report the theft.
NYPD officers arrived on the scene, took a written report and had information about the stolen Saab entered into the state and federal police computer system. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed within the stolen Saab. Neither the owner nor law enforcement agents had to take any further action to activate the LoJack Vehicle Recovery System, as LoJack’s interface with the police is both seamless and instantaneous.
A short while later, the Police of the Brooklyn South Auto Larceny Unit picked up the Saab’s LoJack signal on the LoJack Police Tracking Computers (PTCs) installed in their patrol vehicles. Following the directional and signal strength cues on the PTCs, the officers tracked and eventually located the Saab in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. The moving vehicle was quickly stopped without incident and the driver placed under arrest.
Investigation revealed that the driver was the estranged son of the owner. Apparently, he had been thrown out of his mother’s home and had no permission to drive or be in possession of the vehicle.
The Saab was recovered with no damage. The police contacted the owner, who was elated, despite the circumstances, that her vehicle had been recovered so quickly and without damage.