In a compelling demonstration of corporate citizenship, auto interiors specialist Johnson Controls Inc. recently helped put police in the driver's seat. Following a complaint that a man had tried to abduct a 10-year-old boy near a JCI plant in Lakeshore, Ontario, police used a description of his truck — which featured a personalized license plate — to learn his identity. Investigators discovered the man, previously convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, worked for a Michigan cartage firm. And on the day of the abduction attempt, he'd made a delivery to JCI's Lakeshore facility. With JCI's help, police set up a sting. The company placed an order for the same components previously delivered by the suspect. And again he was dispatched to Lakeshore. But this time, Canada Customs officers were waiting, and he was arrested at the Detroit-Windsor border. The 45-year-old Michigan resident was taken into custody in Ontario, where he faces charges of attempted kidnapping and attempted abduction of a person under 14 years of age.
