The vehicle described as belonging to the suspect was a Chevy Tahoe. The vehicle the detectives found at the repair shop was a GMC, not a Chevrolet. The equivalent GMC SUV is called a Yukon.
While police can legally place tracking devices on cars on public property such as those parked on a street, they cannot intentionally damage privately owned property. No court would authorize such a tactic, and a second drawback here would be a neighbor confronting or reporting the officers breaking car windows. What actual detectives would have done was pull financial and phone records for the suspect to see if any charges or calls had been made at any repair shops, as well as conducted surveillance to include the tracking device.
Amy notes that the victim just got a federal court clerkship with the "Ninth District Court of Appeals." It's the Ninth Circuit, not the Ninth District.