Todd Beckman, 53, of Fenton was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the kidnapping of a Maplewood man, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Beckman, former Tan Co. owner, pleaded guilty in November to one felony count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and was sentenced Feb. 9 by U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig.
Beckman was one of five area men, including several from Jefferson County, who was indicted in December 2016 on federal kidnapping and weapons charges, a report said.
The other men who were indicted are Blake Laubinger, and his brother, Caleb Laubinger, both of the Jefferson County portion of Pacific; Kerry Roades of the Jefferson County portion of Fenton; and Zachary Smith of Eureka.
According to the indictment, on Nov. 21, 2016, the Laubingers allegedly entered the victim’s home and when the victim arrived there, the brothers attacked the man, bound him with zip ties and threatened to kill him if he screamed.
Then, the brothers allegedly used a rental truck to transport the victim to their Pacific home and kept him in the basement, bound with zip ties, handcuffs and duct tape. Later, Beckman and Roades arrived at the home and allegedly beat the victim and pressed a barrel of a handgun against his head, the report said.
That evening, Smith allegedly showed up at the Pacific home where the victim was being held and helped assault him, according to the report.
The men accused the victim of stealing from Blake Laubinger and demanded the money, according to the report.
The next day, the brothers allegedly told the victim that if his parents in Florida did not pay them ransom money, they would kill him. Later, they called the parents and demanded money in exchange for their son’s life, the report said.
During his captivity, the victim “was repeatedly beaten, tased and assaulted by the kidnappers,” according to the report.
On Nov. 22, 2016, the brothers, along with Beckman, allegedly used a rental truck to transport the victim to Beckman’s Fenton property and confined the man there in a shipping container. In addition, Beckman allegedly put a handgun to the victim’s head and threatened him, the report said.
On Nov. 23, 2016, the victim’s parents reportedly paid about $27,000 in ransom to Beckman, and shortly after that, the victim was taken out of the shipping container and transported in a St. Louis Tan Co. van to the Gravois Bluffs shopping center in Fenton where he was released. The men allegedly told the victim they would kill him if he said anything to anyone about the kidnapping, according to the report.
The case was investigated the Drug Enforcement Administration, Maplewood Police and FBI. Assistant U.S. attorneys John T. Davis and Stephen Casey handled the case for the office.
Beckman’s co-defendants, Caleb and Blake Laubinger, Roades and Smith, await sentencing after pleading guilty.