Patrick Beauchamp, Aiding Aiding and Abetting Robbery, Montana 2013

Wolf Point Casino Heist: Getaway Driver Pleads Guilty

A Wolf Point man has pleaded guilty to driving the getaway car in a brazen casino robbery. Patrick Beauchamp, 35, was charged with aiding and abetting robbery after he planned the heist with others and served as the driver.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Weiss, Beauchamp and three others hatched a plan to rob the Northern Lights casino in Wolf Point on June 12, 2013. Beauchamp was behind the wheel, and two others, armed with weapons and masks, went into the casino to carry out the robbery.

One of the robbers struck a casino employee over the head with an axe handle, while the other held customers at bay with a bat. The thieves made off with over $1,340 in cash, which was later found strewn throughout the getaway vehicle.

Law enforcement pulled over the group just moments after the robbery, and a search of the vehicle turned up the stolen cash and a bat. The axe handle was found on the floor of the casino.

Beauchamp faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for July 27, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Brian Morris.

The case was investigated by the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice Criminal Investigations and the Wolf Point Police Department.

Beauchamp's guilty plea brings an end to a high-profile case that left a trail of violence and destruction in its wake. The Wolf Point community can now begin to heal and move forward, knowing that justice has been served.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mt/pr/getaway-driver-wolf-point-casino-robbery-pleads-guilty