These are all great replies, both insightful and entertaining. My neighbor next door suggested last night that we just get him in a closet and beat the s*#t out of 'em. That option may be a bit extreme, but at least defines our frustration level. I asked a buddy on the local police what options we would have or what he has seen done in situations like this in the past. Essentially his options are the same as was mentioned here: Talk to the parents and try to deal with it that way or I can file a report which will result in the police talking to the parents instead. However he said that more often than not, if a parent goes to search the kid's room and finds anything, they won't admit it at the risk of their kid being labled what he is, a thief. I like the idea of having the local sheriff's deputy question the kid and parent, that will certainly have a better potential of scaring him strait then me.
No doubt though, it goes without saying that this kid has earned the ban hammer when it comes to my property. As he has at other neighbor's houses. In fact, my son is not the only kid who has explicit instructions to leave and come home if this bad apple shows up. And now it's unfortunately to the point where enough kids have received that instruction so that if the bad apple shows up the kids tell him to leave an go home, they don't want him around. Almost makes me feel bad for him, the isolation and resentment he'll feel, while well deserved, will not help make him a better person.