Man Who Crashed SUV into Cold Spring Home Loses Appeal

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday upheld the sentence of a man convicted of deliberately crashing an unoccupied SUV into the Cold Spring home of a multi-racial family.

Benton Louis Beyer was convicted in September 2022 of stalking, violations of harassment restraining orders, first-degree criminal damage to property, theft of a motor vehicle, and multiple counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The jury further found that the stalking and second-degree assault charges were motivated by bias against the victims based on the victims’ race or household members. Prosecutors also tacked on aggravating factors, saying the crimes were committed “in the presence of a child who saw, heard, witnessed, or otherwise perceived the offense.” The jury agreed.

Ahead of sentencing, Beyer’s attorney asked for a lesser sentence, citing his client’s rough upbringing, mental health, and substance abuse issues. Judge Andrew Pearson sentenced Beyer to 105 months, or just under nine years, in prison, which was an upward departure from guidelines due to the aggravating factors.

Beyer appealed the sentence, saying the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the assaults were committed “because of” another’s actual or perceived race or color. If a second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon is committed “because of” another’s race or color, the statutory maximum sentence
is increased by 25%, from 84 months in prison to 105 months.

Beyer allegedly became fixated on Andrea Robinson and her family after his girlfriend cheated on him with a Black man. Andrea is white. Her husband is Black, and they have biracial children. Prosecutors said Beyer was stalking and harassing the family for several months, and in July of 2021, Beyer crashed an SUV into the side of the Robinsons’ house. One of the children was sleeping near the impact site in the living room. The Robinson’s home is near where Beyer’s ex-girlfriend worked and roughly six blocks from where Beyer and his girlfriend lived.

Beyer argued in his appeal that the facts proved he was acting out of a jealous rage because he believed his girlfriend was carrying on an affair with Robinson’s adult son. He maintained because the person with whom his girlfriend cheated was biracial, it would only make sense he would single out a person of color and not a white male.

The panel said that ignores the facts that his rants about her infidelity were intertwined with racially charged derogatory language about being Black or having a relationship with a person of color. It also doesn’t go against the proven fact Beyer selected this family solely based on their race and the happenstace they lived on the same block as his girlfriend’s workplace.

Text messages brought into evidence during the trial showed Beyer used racially charged language and told his girlfriend she had “jungle fever.”

The panel says there is sufficient evidence to support the jury’s determination the crimes were racially motivated and that there is a causal connection linking Beyer’s racial bias and his commission of the assaults.

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