On Monday, police in Oak Brook, Illinois, were looking for three men involved in a grab-and-run theft at the Oakbrook Center Mall.
Around 11 a.m., Oakbrook Center security radioed police to report a burglary at the mall’s Alo store.
Oak Brook police officers discovered the suspects’ vehicle speeding north on Spring Road from 16th Street in the west Chicago suburb.
A StarChase GPS dart fired from an Oak Brook squad car near Roosevelt Road was used to tag the vehicle. Officers followed the car as it sped east on the Eisenhower Expressway, eventually reaching Sacramento Avenue on Chicago’s West Side.
The occupants of the getaway car exited the Eisenhower at northbound Sacramento Avenue and entered another vehicle, according to police. The abandoned getaway vehicle was towed and delivered to the Oak Brook Police Department.
Police said the getaway car contained $9,600 in stolen merchandise and several items of evidentiary value.
The suspects are thought to be linked to other Alo store burglaries in the Chicago area, police said.
The GPS tag gun used to track the getaway car in this case has successfully stopped and prevented dangerous police chases in the suburbs.
GPS darts can be launched from the front grille of a police cruiser or with a handheld launcher. Once a dart is attached to a car, a police dispatch center can monitor where the car is going, allowing officers to safely track it down without the perpetrators’ knowledge and attempt an arrest.
The dart sticks to the suspects’ cars in any weather. Its tracking technology may eliminate the need for potentially dangerous chases.
Anyone with information on the suspects in the Oak Brook theft should contact the Oak Brook Police Department Investigations Division at 630-368-8724.
