Contact:
Paul McMahon, LoJack Corporation
(781) 326-4700
Jane Bartnett, Jane Bartnett Communications, Inc.
(516) 897-9017

The Great Cookie Caper - Police Use LoJack To Put An End To Crooks' Sweet Tooth For Cookies And Truck Trailers

Westwood, MA, September 21, 2001 - Police in South Dallas and Mesquite, Texas, were able to crack a major theft ring in which thieves had stolen 25 valuable trailers from parked trucks. In the end, it was a Wells-Cargo 15-foot box trailer, loaded with 86 cases of cookies and a hidden, silent LoJack device that led police to the sweet-tooth thieves, and three other missing trailers. Police estimate the value of the recovered property and cargo at approximately $90,000. It was the first recovery on record in which the new LoJack unit for trailers had led police to a missing trailer or truck.

The story began when a Mesquite truck owner discovered that his cookie-filled trailer was gone. He immediately called Mesquite police to report the theft. Police logged the theft data into the Texas Crime Information Computer, and the LoJack transmitter, hidden on the trailer was automatically activated.

Several hours later, Dallas Police picked up the LoJack signal. Using the directional arrow and strength meter on the police-tracking computer, a patrol officer tracked the signal to a residence in Southeast Dallas. The trailer and cookies were found intact, three arrests were made, and the cookies and trailers were returned to their owner.

As the trailer and its confectionery contents made their way back to Mesquite, Dallas Police began interviewing the three suspects. As a result, they were able to recover three more trailers. Although the police investigation is still on-going, police report that signed statements from the cookie truck thieves now link these individuals to the theft of 25 trailers in all.

"Thanks to the forethought of the owner of the original truck who made the decision to install a LoJack in his trailer, tens of thousands of dollars of property were recovered," said Kathy Slatcher, LoJack's National Sales Manager-Commercial. "Our customer told us that after losing a similar trailer to thieves, he decided to be proactive and installed a LoJack, as well as a tongue lock on the trailer. As any trucker knows, catastrophic, losses can sometimes mean the end of a successful