Three suspects believed they had made a clean getaway in a vehicle in southern Logan County. Only to find out they had slipped into the Logan County Sheriff Department’s bait car.
Martin Billings, Vanessa Garcia and Joseph Nicholson were booked into the county jail and charged for grand larceny of a motor vehicle.
Chief Deputy Richard Stephens says the department received an activation alert from their bait car system indicating that the car was moving. The vehicle had been placed in the Green Oaks Addition, near Simmons and Coltrane, in response to several stolen vehicles and auto burglaries in the area.
Just after 1 p.m., deputies remotely stopped the vehicle and made contact with three subjects, who were later arrested for grand larceny of a motor vehicle.
Martin Billings, 38, and Vanessa Garcia, 35, both of southwest Oklahoma City and Joseph Nicholson, 37, of southern Logan County. They were booked into the county jail.
“The Logan County Sheriff’s Office has been using GPS Trackers to attempt to make an impact in the number of stolen trailers, tractors, farm implements and of course automobiles for over two years,” Stephens said.
“This system is made possible through small GPS tracking devices that can be secreted on a trailer, tractor or other agricultural implements; or can be permanently mounted in a vehicle. These GPS devices send immediate messages to the Sheriff’s Office and to designated Deputies and Supervisors so that the team can mobilize quickly to apprehend the thieves.”
This program has been successful in the past recovering a stolen trailer that resulted in asset forfeiture of the vehicle used. In 2012 Sheriff Jim Bauman put a plan in motion to develop and deploy an actual bait car similar to the ones used on TV shows such as Bait Car and Jacked. The Logan County bait car is equipped with the GPS Tracking System, infrared audio and video recording, and a remote control system that allows Deputies to remotely kill the ignition on the vehicle to avoid dangerous vehicle pursuits.
This bait car system was developed to respond to a noticed increase of stolen vehicles and auto burglaries at the time. The Bait Car was stolen the first day it was placed in 2012, ending in the arrest of two juveniles that were linked to gang activity in Midwest City and Bethany. The resulting investigation resolved several auto burglaries, recovery of several stolen firearms and stolen vehicle cases from these jurisdictions.
“This program serves as a great example of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office commitment to Community Policing philosophy; looking at current crime trends and adjusting the way we do business to make an impact on the crimes we are seeing day to day,” Stephens said.
Related story: Bait vehicle lures two juveniles in southern Logan County
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