BELLEVUE, NE — Big John’s Car Wash here has been hit twice by thieves who stole six metal grates from self-serve stalls, WOWT reported.
The June 19 Crimestoppers report interviewed owner John Yost Jr. who said the thieves have taken grates twice in the last month, and just last week some signs were stolen from the property as well.
The thieves were caught on surveillance video. In the video, two men pull up in a truck, lift two grates and put them in the back of the vehicle. “The truck is small enough they can only get three grates in so they are taking them a couple at a time,” Yost said in the story.
Replacement grates cost Yost about $800 a piece, but the stolen grates will only be worth about $30 as scrap metal.
To prevent injury and accidents, Yost has installed wood panels in the stalls where the grates were stolen. They will hold a vehicle, but they are only temporary until new grates are ordered and made.
“They don't realize what they are doing. Somebody could pull in here and have their car fall in the pit,” Yost stated in the article.