LoJack Helps Police Recover More than $200,000 in Stolen Equipment; Gets Repeat Offender Off the Streets
- January 24, 2012
A LoJack-equipped John Deere 710 backhoe valued at approximately $140,000 was reported stolen by workers after they returned to the jobsite in Phoenix, AZ.
Only 42 minutes after the theft was reported and the system activated, detectives with the Arizona Auto Theft Task Force began picking up the signal emanating from the backhoe. The detectives followed the signal to an industrial area, where they observed the backhoe, a 10-wheeler International Dump Truck, and a flatbed equipment trailer. Detectives set up surveillance, waited for the suspect to return to the scene and recovered the stolen John Deere backhoe.
They then discovered that the dump truck and equipment trailer also had been reported stolen. Thanks to LoJack, detectives recovered the equipment with a total value of approximately $210,000. The suspect, who had just been released from prison for prior equipment theft, confessed his involvement in this crime— plus several other equipment thefts in the Phoenix area.