Undercover Sale Snags Accused Vernon Phone Thief

VERNON, CT — A man accused of breaking into a car in Vernon was caught when he sold cell phones taken in the caper to undercover cops, police said.

The incident took place overnight Tuesday and was reported Wednesday, police said. A resident of a condo complex off Old Town Road reported that a car usually locked was left unlocked and that someone went into the vehicle and took two "older" cell phones with about $100 each, police said.

A short time after the theft, the resident received an electronic notice that the phones were activated. The thief, knowing the phones now worked, posted them for sale online, police said.

An officer contacted the seller to arrange a undercover transaction and the seller, identified as 21-year-old Jason Torrez of Hartford, was then arrested after the sale, police said.

The man who drove Torrez to the undercover transaction, 22-year-old Ricardo Gill, of Bristol, had marijuana in the car and was also arrested, police said.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel