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PROVO -- Provo police say they uncovered a theft ring as they were tracking down a car burglar. Now they're trying to map dozens of stolen items with their owners.
Someone broke into a car here in Provo last week, and the crook took all the credit cards they could find from in the car, then they used those credit cards at local stores. Police looked at store surveillance video, got a good idea who was using the stolen credit cards, and then went in for the arrest.
Provo police were looking for suspects Dennis Shunn and Hayley Viles. Police found Shunn sitting in a car in the parking lot of the M-Star Motel. Police were able to make the arrest, and upon searching the car, they found a lot more than they were looking for.
"Birth certificates, drivers licenses, bank accounts where they had names and dates of births," said Provo Police Sgt. Mathew Siufanua. "I mean, they had a lot of information. Back packs. They even had a couple of 72-hour kits so these guys could have stayed on the road for a while."
Police say they two have been busy taking just about anything they could from anyone they could. In all, police found over 300 items stolen from at least 37 different people. Now the issue is trying to track down all the owners of all the stuff. Police have found and returned about half of the items, but there's still a lot left.
Shunn is no stranger to the theft game. In 2010, he was charged with 51 counts of possessing burglary tools, and was caught with a large quantity of mail which included birth certificates, bank statements, and signed checks. Then, as now, the catch was fortuitous - he was pulled over for having headlight out which led to the discovery of the burglary tools.
If any of the current round of stolen items look familiar, those interested can give Provo police a call and file a report. Someone might want their Egyptian cotton sheets or Foreman grill back in time for Christmas.
Email: [rjeppesen@ksl.com](<mailto: rjeppesen@ksl.com>)
