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Man says crooks stole thousands in steel beams from property

Posted at 8:02 PM, Apr 05, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-05 20:02:04-04

Virginia Beach, Va. - A man's dream of owning his own auto body shop is crumbling before his very eyes after police say they've arrested two suspects they think are responsible for taking $20,000 worth of steel beams from Willie Martin Jr.'s family property.

"You know, this dream. It's gonna happen, it's gonna happen, and then you come here and what you work hard for is gone-just up in the air,” says Martin.

The property has been in Martin's family since he was a kid and for the past few years, he's been wanting to build it into a car repair shop. He's a car mechanic and now works out of a rented space but he wants his own.

That's not happening any time soon since thieves have ravished the property.

Martin said they aren't just after the steel beams. They've also stolen windows from the building and old car parts that were stored inside.

He says it's been going on for years and they’ve lost about $75,000 or more.

Police tell NewsChannel 3 they don't want to release the identity of the suspects yet because investigators are trying to figure out if they're involved in other similar crimes.