Stearns County man gets nearly 9 years for crashing SUV into family's home

ST. CLOUD — A Stearns County judge on Friday sentenced 33-year-old Benton L. Beyer to nearly nine years in prison for stalking and assaulting a Cold Spring family because of their race.

"You devastated a family," Judge Andrew Pearson said during the sentencing, at which three members of the Cold Spring family spoke about how the attack shattered their sense of safety and left them riddled with depression and anxiety.

During the victim impact statements, Beyer sat motionless. During his time to speak, he apologized and asked for leniency.

In September, a jury found Beyer, who is white, guilty on seven counts related to the harassment of the family over several months in 2021. The charges state Beyer crashed a stolen SUV into the home of Andrea and Phil Robinson, a biracial couple, in July 2021 because he suspected his girlfriend at the time was cheating on him with a Black or biracial man.

Beyer, who lived in Cold Spring and Richmond during the reported harassment, was charged with 11 separate counts. The jury 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.

"We know this was an assault targeted by bias," said Ole Tvedten, chief of the criminal division at the Stearns County Attorney's Office, who said the assault was particularly terrifying because the damage was meant to last.

Jackie Umerski, the oldest of the siblings, said over the past couple of years she's watched her family lose their trust, warmth and ability to be carefree.

"How do you watch your loved ones live in a constant state of fear?" she asked. "There are parts of my loved ones I'll never get back."

During the five-day trial, the defense called no witnesses and Beyer did not testify. Defense attorney Jason Migala argued the state tried to make the evidence fit its narrative but didn't have proof Beyer committed the harassment.

On Friday, Beyer said he isn't the same person he was in 2021 and acknowledged his actions impacted the Robinsons and the community at large. He asked to be placed on probation.

"I know what I did was wrong. I know I can't take back what I did — I can only better myself from here on," Beyer said.

Law enforcement officials who testified said they found one of Beyer's vehicles at a park near the home where the SUV was stolen, however there was not conclusive DNA evidence to show Beyer had been in the vehicle.

The Robinson family had no connection to Beyer, other than the proximity of their house to the group home where his ex-girlfriend worked. Testimony showed Beyer's girlfriend told Beyer she had cheated on him with a former co-worker, after which Beyer repeatedly sent her derogatory messages using racial slurs.

At the sentencing hearing, Andrea Robinson addressed Beyer, mostly through tears. She said she never had a "forever home" growing up and moved 13 times by age 15. Phil was one of four children who grew up with a single father in Chicago, she said.

"We were the first of either of our siblings to purchase a home," Robinson said, adding that now the house will likely be emptied of its contents and sold. "The house I once called a home now resembles the shell of a life that once was."

Robinson said the fallout from the incident has caused personal despair and challenges in her marriage.