Stearns County man guilty of crashing stolen SUV into family's home because of race

ST. CLOUD - Jurors on Monday convicted a 33-year-old Stearns County man of stalking and assaulting a Cold Spring family because of their race.

After a five-day trial that concluded Monday afternoon, the District Court jury found 33-year-old Benton L. Beyer, who is white, guilty on seven counts related to the harassment of the Cold Spring family.

The charges against Beyer, who lived in Cold Spring and Richmond during the reported harassment, state in July 2021 he crashed a stolen SUV into the home of Andrea and Phil Robinson, a biracial couple, because he suspected his girlfriend at the time was cheating on him with a Black or biracial man.

Beyer was charged with 11 counts. After about five hours of deliberation, jurors found Beyer guilty on two counts of second-degree assault, as well as one count of first-degree property damage, one count of stalking and one count of motor vehicle theft — all felonies — and on two gross misdemeanor counts of violating a restraining order.

The jury also found the stalking and assault charges had aggravating factors because they were motivated by racial bias. The aggravating factors could add time to Beyer's sentence.

The defense for Beyer called no witnesses and Beyer did not testify. The state called several witnesses, including Andrea and Phil Robinson, local law enforcement officers, Beyer's ex-girlfriend and the Cold Spring man who owned the Ford Excursion that Beyer stole and crashed into the Robinson house using a granite slab set on the accelerator.

Ole Tvedten, chief of the criminal division at the Stearns County Attorney's Office, told the jurors Beyer repeatedly asked the SUV's owner for the vehicle, which barely ran but was large and loud.

Video surveillance and 911 records show Beyer left his apartment just after 5 a.m. on July 24, 2021. The SUV's owner called 911 to report his vehicle was stolen around 5:30 a.m. The camera on the Robinson house shows the vehicle crashing into their front door at 5:32 a.m. Andrea Robinson called 911 to report the crash at 5:34 a.m.

Law enforcement who testified said they found one of Beyer's vehicles at a park near the home where the SUV was stolen; they also found a flashlight, knives, rocks and a single glove in one of Beyer's vehicles, as well as the wallet of the SUV owner at his apartment. There was not conclusive DNA evidence to show Beyer had been in the vehicle.

The Robinson family had no connection to Beyer, other than Beyer's girlfriend worked at a group home near the family's house. Testimony showed Beyer's girlfriend, who moved to California a few days before July 24, told Beyer she had cheated on him with a former co-worker in October 2020. After that time, Beyer repeatedly sent his girlfriend derogatory messages using racial slurs.

"The motivation based on race is not rational but it tells you what was on his mind," Tvedten said of Beyer. "He picked a target and the target was a family with Black people in it."

Defense attorney Jason Migala argued the state had "tunnel vision" and was trying to make the evidence fit its narrative. He said Beyer was repeatedly driving through the Robinson neighborhood because he didn't trust his girlfriend.

"Sometimes things aren't always what they appear to be," he said.

Beyer's sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18. Until then, he is being held without bail.

"Most days I still find it hard coming to terms with the reality of what our family has experienced," Andrea Robinson said late Monday. "I have no words for how drastically it has impacted our lives or the trauma it has caused. The guilty verdicts bring a sense of closure and the aggravating factors validate the true nature of the crime."

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.