Thief steals cellphones donated for troops

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

A car that was stolen Monday carrying about 500 cellphones collected to benefit troops overseas was found today in Weymouth, about a quarter mile from where it was last seen, police said.

A window was smashed and the phones were gone, said Weymouth Police Sergeant Rick Fuller.

The stolen 1990 Oldsmobile was found at 11:45 a.m. at Old Stone Condominiums, around the corner from the Weymouth Elks Club, where it was taken on Monday between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., said Fuller.

"We weren't sure if it was targeted for the car or the phones, but after finding it a quarter of a mile away, [we can assume] it was for the cellphones," said Fuller.

The car was stolen while its owner, Rick Bruce, was in the Elks Club, where he was decorating the club for a Veterans Day drive for CarePacks, a group based in South Weymouth that sends care packages to troops.

Bruce, 49, a CarePacks volunteer from South Weymouth, said when he walked out to his car all he saw was a pile of glass and a rock.

CarePacks planned to give the phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers, a Norwell nonprofit. The group takes cell phones to a recycling center, which pays them for the phones. They then buy pre-paid phone cards, which are shipped to military personnel.

Bob Bergquist, president of the group, said that since news broke of the theft, the City of Quincy had donated 350 phones and another Massachusetts-based company had donated 100.

Police plan to have an evidence technician look over the car for fingerprints, said Fuller. There are no leads, but they are still investigating, he said.

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