Vandals Yank Telephones Right Out of the Ground

Phone companies are accustomed to disconnecting other people’s phones, not the other way around.

But in the last 10 days, eight of Pacific Bell’s North County pay phones have been disconnected --violently--by thieves who apparently ripped the phone pedestals from the ground by chaining them to a truck and driving off.

If the rash of thefts is a practical joke, the phone company isn’t laughing.

“Eight phones, that’s about $8,000,” said company spokesman Katie Flynn. “Our ratepayers (customers) end up paying for this.”

“I’m not amused,” said Escondido Police Sgt. Dale Whaley. “We’re assigning it to detectives and investigating it. That’s our reaction.”

Since July 30, four phones have been stolen from Escondido, three from San Marcos and one from Valley Center. The latest was stolen late Wednesday from a baseball diamond in Kit Carson Park in Escondido.

San Diego County sheriff’s deputies have recovered four of the phones by following the tracks the pedestals made when they were dragged along the road. The phones were battered beyond repair, but the change boxes were unbroken.

“There’s a lot of speculation about who, what, where and why on the case,” Flynn said. Most of the speculation centered on “why.”

“What the heck would they want with a phone booth?” said Kurt Fettu, a sheriff’s spokesman. “That’s a new one.”

Spokesman Jim Mika of the sheriff’s Vista station said deputies had no leads in the case. He ruled out a stakeout of North County pay phones but said the thieves might be spotted other ways. “It’s possible that a deputy will be out and someone will drive by dragging a phone out the back,” he said. “That would be a dead giveaway.”