Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested a Jacksonville man and recovered two stolen tractor-trailers at the TA Travel Center on County Road 210.

The stop followed a tip from Georgia State Patrol, which alerted FHP's Cargo Theft Task Force on Sept. 14 that a stolen 53-foot trailer loaded with automobile tires might be heading south on Interstate 95, the St. Johns Citizen reported.

Eugenio Gonzalez-Merlo, 42, faces two first-degree felony grand-theft charges involving property valued at $100,000 or more and a drug-possession charge. He was booked into the St. Johns County jail.

Gonzalez-Merlo was previously arrested in August 2021 in connection with the alleged theft of a Freightliner utility truck valued at about $250,000 from a Palm Coast hotel. The outcome of that Flagler County case was not reported.

Trailer's mismatched plate tips off detective

At about 7:30 p.m. Monday, an FHP detective spotted a white Hyundai trailer matching the stolen trailer's description near mile marker 334 on I-95, according to the Citizen's report. Its Florida license plate was registered to a different trailer, investigators said.

The trailer was being pulled by a white International tractor traveling alongside a Freightliner hauling a green shipping container. The two trucks repeatedly changed lanes together before exiting at County Road 210 and pulling into the TA Travel Center, according to the arrest report cited by the Citizen.

Troopers detained Gonzalez-Merlo, who was driving the International. The Freightliner's driver allegedly abandoned the truck and fled on foot. Authorities searched the area but did not find him.

Tires, batteries recovered from stolen rigs

Both tractors and both trailers had been reported stolen to law enforcement agencies in Florida and Georgia, according to the report. Troopers recovered automobile tires from the white trailer and lithium-ion batteries from the green shipping container. The cargo's value was not disclosed.

Troopers also allegedly found a folded $1 bill containing a white crystalline substance in Gonzalez-Merlo's wallet.

Suspect's 2021 truck theft case still unresolved

In the 2021 Flagler County case, a GPS tracker led deputies to a location about 5 miles from the hotel. Investigators found only the tracker and equipment stripped from the vehicle. The truck remained missing at the time of that arrest.

The second suspect in the CR 210 stop has not been identified. No court date for Gonzalez-Merlo has been announced.