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PROVO -- A Provo resident collecting donations for the poor Sunday learned the hard way that thieves are always watching for an easy target.
Dan Lafontaine volunteered to collect fast offerings donations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when other members of his ward were unable to visit all the houses. But after stopping at a few homes, Lafontaine made the mistake of leaving his keys in the car while visiting a home, which allowed someone to jump in the car and quickly get away.
The car was not even Lafontaine's, who was renting the green Lexus IS 300 from a car dealership to see if it was something he'd be interested in purchasing.
Provo Police Sgt. Mathew Siufanua said each year the city has an average of nine cars stolen, which prompted the city to pass an ordinance to make it illegal to leave an unsecured car with the keys inside.
Siufanua said nearly 80 percent of stolen vehicles are recovered because most thieves only want what is inside, but with Lafontaine's rental car, there is no permanent license plate on it, making it harder for detectives to locate the vehicle.
Provo police are asking anyone with information to call 801- 852-6210.
Email: rjeppesen@ksl.com
