Volusia Co. Sheriff's Office searches for stolen trailers

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in tracking down several trailers that were stolen from Orange City, DeLand and Deltona.

Michael Desaussure, 53, is being questioned in connection with the thefts.

Investigators said they learned from previous arrests related to Desaussure that he targets unattended trailers during daylight hours and transports them to Orlando to sell them within hours of the thefts, authorities said.

According to the police report, Desaussure sold at least two trailers to Lee Road Tire Center in Orlando and the business then sold them to unknown customers.

Anyone who has purchased a trailer either from that business or directly from Desaussure is asked to call the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators said they would like to inspect the trailers and any equipment that was with them to determine if they were stolen.

The current arrest warrant for Desaussure relates to a 1996 flatbed 16-foot utility trailer that was stolen from a residence near Orange City on Jan. 3.

Later that same day, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrested Desaussure and charged him with dealing in stolen property. The arrest, however, was unrelated to the trailer theft, authorities said, but the license plate from the utility trailer was found in the cab of Desaussure’s truck.

But before investigators from both agencies could link Desaussure to the utility trailer theft, they said he had bonded out of jail and disappeared.

Desaussure is also a suspect in the theft of a trailer in DeBary on Tuesday.

There, a 2005 Emerson Hombre 6x4x16 tandem-axle trailer loaded with wheelbarrows, a toolbox and a cement mixer was taken from the victim’s front yard.

WFTV