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Man Arrested After Stealing Boat Trailer From Waterford Driveway

WATERFORD (WWJ) - A 48-year-old Waterford man is facing charges after stealing a boat trailer from the driveway of a home in Waterford.

Todd Kessler was arraigned last week on one count of larceny over $1,000 but less than $20,000. He remains lodged at the Oakland County Jail on a $25,000 cash bond.

Police say they responded to the 3600 block of Lotus, off Williams Lake road, last Friday night for a stolen trailer complaint. There, the 39-year-old homeowner told police he was contacted by his 18-year-old son about someone stealing a boat trailer out of his yard.

The man told police his son observed the suspect, later identified as Kessler, back his red Dodge pickup into the driveway, hook up to the trailer and drive away. Moments after the theft, the man said he observed a vehicle matching the description his son had given him along with a boat trailer parked in the lot of the Dixieland Flea Market.

Police say the man approached the vehicle and confronted the Kessler, taking a picture of him before he fled the scene. The man, who was able to recover his trailer at that time, provided officers with the photo and license plate on Kessler's vehicle. Police say the registration plate on the trailer had been replaced with a plate belonging to Kessler's father.

While on the way to Kessler's residence in the 6300 block of Lanman, which is less than a mile away from the crime scene, officers received information that Kessler was suspected in a similar attempted theft that had just occurred in Independence Township.

Kessler -- who has an extensive criminal history that includes larceny, arson, drunk driving, auto theft and retail fraud -- was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Waterford Police Department for booking before being turned over to investigators from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.

Police say other stolen property was also located in Kessler's garage.

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