WHITE CLOUD, Mich — Newly obtained court documents are shedding new light on what led up to a fire that destroyed Charlie's Family Grill in White Cloud and how the owners were charged in the case.
Father David Robinson, 50, is charged with arson while his son Ryan Robinson, 30, is charged with arson and two counts of false pretenses.
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.
"Their demeanor was not of what would reasonably be believed of a family in shock and/or upset that their business is burning," the officer who responded to the fire said in his report.
One day prior to the fire, 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 breaks out at the restaurant and the officer Ryan told this to, is the officer who responds to the fire.
The officer said the family was seen laughing and joking in what he described as 'unusual' for a family losing a source of income.
A few days later, the Robinson's made a claim to State Farm, saying their business had burned down and they claimed multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment, including supplies for a new location they were planning to open in Hart.
Both David and Ryan were called to the scene of the fire about one week later and made conflicting statements to investigators about the fire, the cause and the origin.
During the conversation, Ryan brought up the threat he received via Facebook messenger from someone in Detroit and then said the person was from Grand Rapids.
Police instructed Ryan to show him those messages but he couldn't pull them up on his phone for police and said he printed them off and gave them to his attorney.
During the fire investigation, they found there was very little food on site where the restaurant burned. They found a few potatoes, and some heads of lettuce but did not find any amount of food or restaurant equipment to support the restaurant's operation.
During questioning, police chief Dan Evans said Cassaundra told Ryan "be careful, his camera is on," referring to the chief's body camera. The chief said at that point, Ryan looked at him and looked away quickly and ended the conversation.
The Michigan State Police Sergeant investigating the fire noticed that the main water valve inside the restaurant had been turned off, which means the only water source in the building was not working.
The origin of the fire was traced back to the attic, the main level and the basement.
A short time later, Ryan Robinson sent an email to Chief Evans saying he will not participate in any investigation to assist law enforcement.
A nearby business had a security camera operating during the night of the fire and showed both David and Ryan were at the restaurant prior to the fire, taking equipment out and putting it into their trucks.
The camera also records them two leaving and being the last people to shut and lock the door.
Right after the pull out, the surveillance video shows a ten foot visible plume of smoke coming from the roof of the building followed by large billows of flames.
Ryan told police after he left the restaurant he went to Wesco and then went to their new restaurant opening in Hart to paint it, but security footage at Wesco has no trace of Ryan ever there.
A few minutes later, the camera then shows the two of them arriving at the scene of the fire, beating most of the firefighters there.
White Cloud Police Chief Dan Evans said Ryan has a history of filing insurance claims for fires.
Ryan Robinson and Cassaundra Robinson made an insurance claim on October 19, 2022 for their restaurant located at 1013 West Main Street in the City of Fremont.
The two reported to their insurance company, State Farm, that they had a restaurant fire. The two said a deep fryer had flared up, was destroyed, and also caught the oven next to it on fire.
State Farm paid out $97,756.40 for the fire.
Then on Feb. 26, 2023, their home located at 1096 East James Street, had a fire in their outbuilding which was detached from the home. A few days after the fire, Chief Evans said Ryan made a post on a social media site asking people to help come in and tear down what remained of the structure and help dispose of the debris.
They made another claim to State Farm and the insurance company paid out $54,982.84.
About three to four years prior, Ryan reported a vehicle fire with $5,000 in the glovebox. He told police he was pulling a boat and before the vehicle was fully engulfed, Ryan was able to disconnect the boat. Police said the evidence from that is completely gone.
"Three fires within a matter of about six months and there is a great likelihood that a firefighter is going to get hurt battling these fires," Chief Evans told the Judge.
Both David and Ryan are expected back in court next Thursday for a probable cause hearing.
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