Driver of car that crashed into bank pleads guilty to auto theft

By Neal Putnam

A suspect driving a stolen car that crashed into a wall at the Bank of America branch in Ramona pleaded guilty Sept. 24 to auto theft and felony evasion of sheriff’s deputies in the Aug. 11 incident.

Daniel James Beahm, 18, will be sentenced Nov. 8 and faces a maximum term of three years and eight months in state prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Nikki Weiner.

Beahm could also be placed on probation.

He was driving a red Mitsubishi Eclipse that was reported stolen at 6:23 a.m. that same day. A deputy saw the Mitsubishi at 14th and Main streets around 6:30 a.m. and followed it after Beahm drove the car into the Albertsons shopping center.

Beahm may have seen the deputy. He drove off too fast and lost control of the Mitsubishi. It sideswiped a chain link fence on 14th Street and hit a wall at the bank at 1407 Main St.

The car was totaled, said Weiner. Beahm could be ordered to pay for damages to the car and the bank.

Beahm is already on probation for theft in another case in which another Ramona resident, Billy Wayne Henson, 36, was sentenced to three years in custody. The sheriff’s department said Henson will be released on Jan. 6, 2014.

Beahm was released from jail July 27 after getting credit for serving 57 days, according to court records. He could have his probation revoked or reinstated. Beahm pleaded guilty before El Cajon Superior Court Judge John Thompson and remains in the East Mesa Detention Facility without bail.