WHITE CLOUD, Mich. — The two men accused of burning down Charlie's Family Grill in White Cloud are in court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
David Robinson, 50, is charged with arson of an insured real property, while Ryan Robinson, 30, is facing arson of an insured real property (20 years) and two counts of false pretenses (15 years).
The duo were business partners according to police and owners of Charlie's Family Grill, 276 S. Charles Street in White Cloud, which was completely destroyed in a fire back on March 18.
During the preliminary hearing, the prosecutor is tasked with calling witnesses and presenting evidence to establish a probable cause of each of the charges against the defendants.
Court documents obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE prior to the preliminary hearing claim that Ryan had contact with an officer at the restaurant a day before the fire.
The documents said that the same officer who responded to the fire was sitting in the parking lot monitoring people who were speeding, when Ryan approached him in his police cruiser.
The officer said Ryan approached him and told him to watch his business because he's been receiving threats on Facebook messenger that someone had planned to burn it down.
The officer asked Ryan to show him the Facebook messages but he claimed he did not have his phone on him at the time.
The next day, a massive fire broke out at the restaurant and the officer Ryan spoke to responded to it.
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