Richfield Man Pleads Guilty to Mailing a Threat to Kill and Injure Co-Workers

Earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis, a 44-year-old Richfield man pleaded guilty to mailing a letter that contained a threat to kill and injure several employees of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Bloomington, where he also worked. Specifically, Peter Winston Beckles pleaded guilty to one count of mailing a threatening communication. Beckles, who was charged on March 7, 2011, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen.

In his plea agreement, Beckles admitted that on June 1, 2010, he mailed a letter to the Bloomington hotel’s parent company, Hilton Hotel, in Memphis, Tennessee. The letter described the race-based hostilities he harbored toward a number of his co-workers at Embassy Suites. It also included threats to injure and even kill many of them.

For his crime, Beckles faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Judge Ericksen will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Paulsen.