Man Accused of Racially Motivated Harassment Hit With New Charges

(KNSI) – The man accused of crashing an SUV into a Cold Spring home has been hit with more charges, and prosecutors are seeking to add aggravating factors onto the case, according to court documents filed in Stearns County District Court.

Prosecutors filed seven additional charges against 32-year-old Benton Louis Beyer.

Beyer is accused of stalking and harassing a multiracial Cold Spring family over the last several months, including ramming an SUV into their home in July. Amended charges against Beyer now include two counts of second-degree assault. Robinson had been pleading with the court to file assault charges against Beyer. The charges also say Beyer’s actions were racially motivated as photos from the scene showed a bear inside the SUV hanging from a noose. The mother of that family, Andrea Robinson, is white. Her husband is Black, and they have biracial children.

The criminal complaint says, “Aware of the historical pain and resulting fear that a noose would inflict on victims of an assault, investigators followed multiple leads to determine the origin and use of the bear.” It was determined the bear was in the SUV before the crash and was not race-related. However, the amended complaint says Beyer became fixated on Robinson and her family after his girlfriend cheated on him with a Black man. The Robinson’s home is near where Beyer’s ex-girlfriend worked and roughly six blocks from where Beyer and his girlfriend lived.

Other charges against Beyer include stalking, felony damage to property, theft, harassment, and misdemeanor property damage. Prosecutors are tacking on aggravating factors in the case, saying the crimes were committed “in the presence of a child who saw, heard, witnessesed, or otherwise perceived the offense.” The family was home when the SUV came crashing through the side of it, and one of Robinson’s children was sleeping on the couch in the living room, just a short distance from the impact.

Robinson says Beyer has been stalking her family for months. Officers say they’ve received 18 calls about Beyer allegedly harassing or stalking the family. An order of protection was put in place on May 21st, barring Beyer from having any contact with Robinson for two years, but the complaint shows Beyer followed Robinson to two locations in Waite Park in July.

Beyer’s next court appearance is set for September 9th. A jury trial is scheduled for October.

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