Orem police say they had little trouble finding this alleged metal thief, whose car wasn't quite up to the load he purportedly took from a construction site. The face of the man in the photo has been blurred, since he has not been identified in our story. (Orem police photo)

Ever try to hide four stolen 12-foot-long aluminum beams inside a four-door sedan?

Orem police Sgt. Craig Martinez says it just doesn’t work, as a rather clueless would-be metal thief found out this week.

The beams were reported stolen Monday morning from a construction site at 50 South and 1200 West by a motorist who reportedly confronted the suspect about taking the items. He was gruffly told to mind his own business before the alleged thief drove off — with the beams bouncing outside his rear passenger window.

Police had little trouble locating the suspect and his vehicle, about a mile down the road from the construction site. His car was parked, the metal still sticking out of the back seat, at the NCR Recycling Yard — where he allegedly planned to attempt selling the beams for scrap.

The 49-year-old man was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant, in addition to a new expected charge of misdemeanor theft.

The suspect thought to tie a red flag on the end of the protruding metal, as required with long, protruding loads.

“I guess he was trying to be at least semi-law abiding,” Martinez said Tuesday.

remims@sltrib.com