Note to all Novato residents.
Do not leave your keys in the car, not even for a few minutes.
One man learned the lesson the hard way after his car was stolen at the Rowland Boulevard Shell station at 1390 S. Novato Boulevard Sunday morning. The man had gone inside the store, but left his keys inside the vehicle.
When he came out several minutes later, the car was missing.
Novato police used information from witnesses at the scene to follow in the direction of the stolen vehicle and spotted it traveling southbound on Highway 101. Multiple units gave chase and were able to pull over the driver near the Ignacio Boulevard exit.
The driver, later identified as 59-year-old Dale Curtis Gaines of Mill Valley, was arrested for vehicle theft and transported to the Marin County Jail.
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