On July 23, 2021, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect who stole a Freightliner utility truck on June 4, 2021, from the Fairfield Inn, located at 400 Old Kings Road in Palm Coast. An employee of a national electrical company reported that the Freightliner truck, valued at approximately $250,000.00, had been stolen from the parking lot overnight.
Responding deputies were advised of a GPS inside the truck, which showed it had been parked at Old Kings Road and Matanzas Parkway. When deputies arrived at the location of the GPS, the GPS system was stripped from the vehicle, along with two bags of various wires, electrical components, a 12-volt adapter, modem, laptop adapter, laptop, and an iPad. The truck was not recovered.
Detectives with the FCSO General Assignment Unit began investigating the case. Through various investigative means and utilizing the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) technology, detectives and analysts were able to determine that several vehicles from the Jacksonville, Florida area were involved in the theft. One vehicle appeared to be an F-350 and the other appeared to be a smaller sport utility vehicle.
FCSO Detectives were able to identify the registered owner of the F-350 as Eugenio Gonzalez-Merlo (DOB: 12/19/1983) of Jacksonville. Due to the totality of the circumstances and with the assistance of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the FCSO General Assignment Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Gonzalez-Merlo. Gonzalez- Merlo has a criminal history in Duval County. He’s been previously charged with Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Resisting Officer Without Violence.
“We need the community’s help to locate this suspect,” Sheriff Staly said. “If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call us so we can put this guy in jail where he belongs. I commend our team for their detective work and identifying this thief and hope we can locate him so he can face justice. If you see him, please do not approach and contact us immediately.”
Eugenio Gonzalez-Merlo is charged with Grand Theft Auto Over $100,000 and has not been located. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the FCSO at (386) 313-4911 or email [email protected], or call CrimeStoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS where you could be eligible for a reward up to
$5,000.00.
