A Lake County man won’t go to jail for conspiracy and robbery at the Colusa County Casino in 2020, but was sentenced to serve a maximum three year sentence on March 13 on a felony conviction of failure to appear in court.
Colusa County District Attorney Brenden Farrell said he had no choice but dismiss the assault and robbery charges against Michael Neuman, 42, of Lucerne, after the only witness – the victim – died last year of a fentanyl overdose.
Jillian Beeman, 38, of Kelseyville, who allegedly orchestrated the robbery of a man inside his hotel room, could face a similar fate when Colusa County finally catches up to her, Farrell said.
Beeman is currently facing charges in Lake County for felony burglary, identity theft, forgery, and passing a bad check.
She is scheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court on March 28.
Beeman is wanted in Colusa County on a $50,000 bench warrant. Her last appearance in court was 11 months ago when she entered a not guilty plea.
Neither Neuman nor Beeman are strangers to the justice system. Both have lengthy criminal histories, including drug-related charges.
Neuman was convicted of felony assault and vandalism in 2017, in a plea deal that dismissed charges alleging buying and selling stolen property, possession of burglary tools, possession of controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, court records indicate.
According to testimony at Neuman’s preliminary hearing on the burglary charges, Beeman was seen on surveillance footage at the casino cozying up to the victim as he gambled, and that the victim even gave her money to play before he invited her to his room.
Surveillance of the hotel hallway showed Beeman opened the door of the hotel room about 20 minutes later, let Neuman inside, and then darted down the hall and out the front entrance to a waiting vehicle.
Prior to his death, 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 was then seen on surveillance exiting the room and the hotel and leaving with Beeman in Anthony Montanaro’s vehicle,
Conspiracy charges were later dismissed against Montanaro because he could not be placed talking to either Beeman or Neuman inside the casino, and claimed he only learned of the crime after leaving the casino when Neuman and Beeman argued in the car about the amount of money taken, law enforcement officials said.
While Neuman had made several initial court appearances, including to enter a not guilty plea on robbery charges, he failed to appear at subsequent hearings and was charged with a separate felony on March 21, 2022. He will serve out his time in Colusa County Jail as a state prison inmate and be given credit for time served since his arrest. ■