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SALT LAKE CITY — A second man has been charged and arrested in a kidnapping, assault and robbery of a man in southern Utah man who police say was driven to three banks and forced to withdraw money.
The incident happened on Dec. 23 when Drake Beckler, 30, of St. George, Jacob Dane Hancock, 26, of St. George, and one other man not named in court documents, broke into a hotel room at gunpoint and demanded money from a man that Hancock believed was owed to him, according to charging documents.
The trio then drove the victim to three banks in St. George and forced him to try and cash a check at one location and withdraw money from an ATM at others, according to the charges. Hancock allegedly used a stun gun on the man throughout the process.
After returning to the hotel room, the men took tools, clothing, electronics and a handgun from the victim and transferred an additional $100 from the man’s PayPal account, the charges state.
That transfer was made to Beckler’s PayPal account, according to a police booking affidavit. Police also served a search warrant on a residence connected to Becker and “multiple stolen items from this incident were recovered” including the victim’s phone and a handgun, the affidavit states.
Beckler was charged Wednesday in 5th District Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and aggravated kidnapping, all first-degree felonies; theft of a firearm, a second-degree felony; and aggravated assault and theft, third-degree felonies.
On Tuesday, Hancock was charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping, both first-degree felonies; burglary and theft, both second-degree felonies; and theft and aggravated assault, third-degree felonies, in connection with the same crime.
