South San Francisco police say a new wave of tracking tech helped them zero in on a vehicle tied to a reported wheel theft, kicking off a multi-agency pursuit that ended with arrests and the stolen property returned to the rightful owners. During that same overnight shift, officers say a separate traffic stop turned up a loaded, concealed gun and landed a driver in custody.
According to a South San Francisco Police Department Facebook post, officers first answered a call about a wheel theft, then used the department’s vehicle-tracking tools to locate the suspect car. The post notes that the California Highway Patrol joined the chase and that the pursuit ended safely with suspects arrested and stolen items recovered.
How Officers Tracked The Suspect
The department has been steadily rolling out automated license-plate readers and a drone program, tools that officials say help officers spot stolen vehicles faster and coordinate their responses. The City of South San Francisco laid out that expansion in a January 2025 news release on new ALPR cameras and a drone-as-first-responder program, and city officials have pointed to those systems when describing quicker identifications in earlier cases, as detailed by the City of South San Francisco.
What Officers Recovered
The department’s Facebook post states that during the incident, a proactive traffic stop led officers to a loaded, concealed firearm that they “safely seized,” and that the driver was taken into custody. Police also recovered stolen property tied to the initial wheel-theft report, and the post credits regional partners, including the CHP, with helping bring the pursuit to a safe conclusion. South San Francisco Police Department notes that photos accompany the update.
Police say the operation lines up with a broader pattern of using technology and cross-agency teamwork to chase down thieves and recover stolen goods. As reported in a previous high-tech mail-theft bust, the department has highlighted tools like Flock cameras and private security partnerships in earlier quick-turnaround arrests, per Hoodline.
The South San Francisco Police Department says this latest investigation is still active and is asking anyone with information to call its non-emergency line. The department’s non-emergency number and tip resources are available on the city’s police website, with the City of South San Francisco providing the contact details.
