More motorcycle thieves get busted via LoJack

This just in from my friend Jeremy Warnick at LoJack. Every year about this time the company, which produces a tracking device that helps recover stolen goods, puts out a list of some of the best busts of the year. These five range from a counterfeit check writer to a chop shop to a bike recovered in six minutes.

Read on and smile.

LoJack’s Top 5 Stolen Motorcycle Recoveries of 2010

Thief Uses Counterfeit Check to Buy 2007 Harley from craigslist – The owner of a 2007 Harley Davidson listed his bike for sale on craigslist and was deceived by a buyer who paid for it with a counterfeit check. The owner immediately notified Cleveland police and within minutes, they began picking up the bike’s LoJack signal.  The bike was found in excellent condition and returned to its owner; arrests were pending.

Police Officer Burglarized; Two Bikes Stolen Along with Guns, Jewelry & TVs – A law enforcement officer’s residence was burglarized, with the bold thief stealing several guns, flat screen TVs, jewelry and two motorcycles. Fortunately, her Ducati was equipped with LoJack.  Approximately three hours later, California Highway Patrol Air received the signal from the stolen bike and notified ground units, which tracked the bike to a residence. There, investigators also recovered a second stolen bike, the guns, TVs and most of the stolen jewelry – total value: $60,000.  Two suspects with extensive records were arrested.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas…Especially if You Have a LoJack: Chop Shop Busted in Just Over an Hour – The owner of a 2008 Yamaha motorcycle discovered his bike was stolen and immediately reported it to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.  Within minutes, officers picked up the silent LoJack signal and located the stolen bike parked in a residential garage, where police found not only the stolen Yamaha, but two other stolen bikes, as well as a stolen jet ski and trailer – all in only 64 minutes.  A total of three suspects (two of whom were hiding in an attic with a sawed off rifle) were taken into custody.

Suzuki Motorcycle Recovered in 6 Minutes leads to $90,000 Recovery – The owner of a stolen 2008 BLK Suzuki GS1 motorcycle equipped with LoJack Early Warning was notified that his bike was moved without permission and immediately contacted New Orleans Police.  Within minutes, Gretna Police tracked down the bike inside a Ford 350 van in the parking lot of an apartment complex.  Upon investigation, police learned that the van was also stolen along with another identical van – total value of all three vehicles: $90,000.

Recovered Bike with LoJack Leads to Four Other Stolen Bikes and an Escalade – A stolen 2008 Honda CBR1000 with LoJack was tracked down by Baltimore area police and auto theft detectives, who not only recovered the bike, but also four additional stolen bikes and a Cadillac Escalade that had been stolen in New York City in 2007.

Just a note: I have no affiliation with LoJack, and just present these stories because LoJack supplies them to me. If anyone has a competing product with similar success stories to tell I'll gladly publish those here as well.