Suspected thief is nabbed
by police in car theft stingA global positioning system helped
track down a planted auto
A thief took the bait Thursday night and stole a Honda Accord, equipped with a global positioning system and planted by police to cut down on car thefts.
"I'm glad to say they finally picked our car," said Lt. Hank Nobriga, who heads Honolulu Police Department's Auto Theft Detail.
Police made their first arrest Thursday after months of leaving the bait car in various areas including Ala Moana Center, Waikiki, Makiki and Pearl City.
The suspect, a woman with two prior felony convictions, was still in the car trying to re-start the engine in Nuuanu when police arrested her.
Using the global positioning system, police tracked the car by computer from a downtown location.
Nobriga said the $1,000 system by Geonautics International can be removed and placed into other cars, although the Honda is one of the most frequently stolen cars.
Police first saw the bait car driven at 11:15 p.m. Thursday and caught a suspect within the hour by using a remote-controlled switch that killed the engine in Nuuanu.
A detective watched the movements of the car on a computer monitor and could direct officers in the field to follow the car.
Police also noted the various locations where the car stopped. Police will check whether those stops are related to crimes in those areas.
Nobriga said the suspect may be linked to other auto thefts and has two felony convictions for first-degree terroristic threatening and parole violation.
Police started using the car at the beginning of the year after receiving a grant of less than $40,000 last year. The National Insurance Crime Bureau and local auto insurance companies donated the car.
"There is no magic bullet for auto theft," Nobriga said.
On Oahu, about 500 to 600 cars are stolen every month, down from a couple of years ago when between 700 and 800 were stolen monthly, Nobriga said. He estimated there were 50 arrests a month but could not say how many were successfully prosecuted.