Suspect charged in ATV, vehicle and trailer theft

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office has a suspect in custody in connection with an early morning theft of a vehicle, trailer and ATVs.

The vehicles and trailer were taken from a home in the 300 block of Burbank Road this morning. At around 7:30 a.m., a man noticed his friend’s vehicle and trailer with ATVs on the side of the road with the trailer detached. The man approached the vehicle to see if his friend needed help, when he saw a man who was not his friend. Deputies said the man confronted the suspect, and the suspect pulled out a knife. The suspect then reattached the trailer and continued driving on River Road toward downtown.

Sara Little owns the vehicle. She says her co-worker Sean was the man who approached the suspect.

“The guy freaked out and said that he found my Blazer, but evidently he probably took it. Then pulled out a knife on Sean, and that’s when Sean stepped back and just let him take my car,” Little said.

Deputies have identified the suspect as Daquan Lemelle Hansley, 21. He faces several felony charges, including breaking and entering and larceny of a motor vehicle. Deputies said Hensley crashed the SUV in the 5800 block of River Road and fled using one of the vehicles on the trailer, a Honda scooter. Deputies tracked the suspect into the Mott’s Village housing development, where they found the abandoned scooter.

Little says police found the ATV, a blue Quad with a red frame, that was unaccounted for during the daytime. No word on its condition or where it was found at this point.

Darren Heisterborg, Little’s boyfriend, owns the ATV. He says he was going to use that vehicle to race at a fundraiser this weekend. The fundraiser was one he started after developing kidney disease.

“I’ve been using my racing to try to help motivate and inspire other people, kids, adults. It doesn’t matter. Just to show them you can get through struggles in life,” Heisterborg said.

Heisterborg said this is just a little hurdle compared to what he’s been through.

“It’s a big deal, but it’s not in retrospect to what I deal with on a daily basis with doing dialysis four times a day and the doctors and all that,” Heisterborg said.

Little says this incident will not stop her boyfriend and his efforts.

“That bike has kept him alive. If Darren has to race mine I’ll let him race mine, but Darren is going to race this weekend,” Little said.