A father and son from Ypsilanti are facing multiple theft charges in a string of business burglaries across Washtenaw and western Wayne counties.

Shawn David Cole, 39, and Ryan Jeremy Belcher, 21, were formally charged in six different crimes stretching from Canton Township to Dexter. And police say the men are suspected in at least a half-dozen more.

Cole waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday on seven counts of breaking and entering a building with intent and remains in custody on $50,000 bond. A pre-trial hearing before Circuit Judge Melinda Morris is scheduled for Feb. 7.

Belcher, one of Cole’s three sons, is charged with six identical counts for crimes that started in late June and occurred about once a week through September, police reports said.
He also waived his preliminary hearing in district court and remains free on $5,000 bond pending a pre-trial hearing on Feb. 28.

The two are accused of working together to burglarize a computer store on Ann Arbor’s south side on Sept. 14 and the Red Belly Boardshop on the city’s north side on Dec. 6, detectives said.

Pittsfield Township police suspect the father and son are tied to burglaries at Miles of Golf on Carpenter Road on Aug. 30 and the Wings-Pizza-N-Things on South State Street on Sept. 8, reports show.

In nearly every case, thieves entered the businesses by removing panes of glass to avoid alarm systems. They stole plasma televisions that were sold for quick cash, police reports said.   

Detectives from several agencies began tracking the cases and discovered a crime wave that plagued eateries, beauty salons and eyeglass shops in Ann Arbor and Saline, as well as other small businesses in Canton, Pittsfield, Van Buren and Ypsilanti townships throughout the summer.

Police declined to discuss the cases in detail. Pittsfield Deputy Police Chief Gordy Schick said detectives worked the cases daily over a period of months. Technology and electronic surveillance were essential in building the cases, he said.

David Goldstein, Cole’s attorney, said he doesn't comment on pending cases. Belcher is represented by the county public defender’s office, which has a policy against commenting on pending cases. Family members also declined to comment.

Both men were arrested by authorities in Wayne County in the fall, but police say they continued their burglary spree in different communities while free on bond. Police reports show the crimes also continued after they both received probation sentences for their crimes.

Records show Cole pleaded guilty to counts of computer crimes and receiving and concealing stolen property in November on a case investigated by the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department in June. One felony count of breaking and entering with intent was dismissed, and Cole was placed on probation for three years. Less than a month later, deputies arrested him again for allegedly breaking into a Dexter business with a 14-year-old boy, who is charged in juvenile court.

Belcher was sentenced to time served, 60 days of community service work and probation, according to Wayne County court records. He was also sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which allows certain felony convictions of those between the ages of 17 and 20 to be expunged upon completion of a court sentence.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.