Thieves caught after using stolen cell phone Thieves caught after using stolen cell phone (March 14, 2001)

Two thieves who broke into the trunk of a Woodside vehicle on La Questa Way on February 26, stealing a cell phone and other items valued at about $1,200, might have made a clean getaway but for a couple of mistakes, according to San Mateo County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Bonifacio.

First, they used the stolen phone to make personal calls, Deputy Bonifacio said. Then, in a move possibly calculated to repent of their misdeed, they dumped everything in a pile on the side of Canada Road. In addition to the phone, the stolen property included a snowboard, goggles, and some CDs.

The day after the theft, he said, the alert employees at a Canada Road business happened to see a pile of stuff sitting on the side of the road next to the business. The employees contacted the Sheriff's Office and deputies identified the items as matching the list of property taken from the vehicle.

The thieves' identities were revealed when sheriff's deputies examined the stolen phone's call log, Deputy Bonifacio said. Deputies used the log to identify an adult and a juvenile, both of whom confessed to the crime when questioned.

The adult, Mitchell Moshell, 18, of Woodside, was booked into the county jail on charges of grand theft. The juvenile was released to his parents.