The femme fatal accused of orchestrating the strong-armed robbery of a man having a good gambling run at the Colusa Casino Resort and Hotel in 2020 has finally graced Colusa County Superior Court with her presence.
Jillian Lynn Beeman, 37, of Lucerne, pleaded not guilty on Monday to second degree robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection to the Dec. 17, 2020, robbery of a Lake County man, who reported he was robbed inside his hotel room.
Beeman’s alleged co-conspirator, Michael Neuman, 42, of Lucerne, is awaiting trial on the same charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
According to testimony by Sheriff Sgt. Matt Purcell, at a preliminary hearing in 2021, Beeman was seen on surveillance footage at the casino cozying up to a man as he gambled, and that the man even gave the attractive woman, who said her name was Carissa, money to play before he invited her to his room.
Officials said surveillance of the hotel hallway showed Beeman entering the man’s hotel room. She then opened the door about 20 minutes later to let Neuman inside, before she immediately darted down the hall and out the front entrance to an awaiting vehicle, driven by Anthony John Montanaro, 53, of Lucerne, Purcell said.
Charges against Montanaro were eventually dismissed because there was insufficient evidence to connect Montanaro to the planning and execution of the robbery that occurred inside the first floor hotel room belonging to the victim.
Neuman and Beeman could be seen on surveillance speaking to each other on the casino floor, but at no time could either be seen talking to Montanaro.
According to Purcell, the victim claimed Neuman entered the room fully masked, cornered him with a small knife and pepper spray, and robbed him of more than $2,000 on threat that Neuman knew where the victim lived and that he would kill him and his family if he called the cops.
Neuman could then be seen on surveillance exiting the room and the hotel and leaving with Beeman in Montanaro’s vehicle, Purcell said.
A search warrant later served in Lake County recovered a knife matching the description of the knife described by the victim.
Purcell said that during the investigation, Neuman admitted to the robbery and said that “the bitch” came up with the idea because she knew the victim had won quite a bit of money.
Montanaro told Purcell, after the investigation led the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office to the three suspects, that he was not privy to the planning of the robbery, but only learned about it on the way home after Beeman and Neuman argued about the amount of money that was taken from the victim, which Neuman claimed was just a few hundred dollars.
Beeman, who remains out of custody pending court proceedings, is scheduled to appear in court on July 6 for the setting of a preliminary hearing. ■