CHILTON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The attorney for Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Beck entered not guilty pleas for him Monday for allegedly damaging his daughter’s cellphone.
Beck, 44, faces misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and theft of movable property for the June 5 incident.
For misdemeanor cases, defendants are allowed to sign a waiver to authorize their attorney to appear on their behalf for certain hearings, and they do not have to appear in person themselves. That happened in this case.
A signature bond was set. Beck returns to court Oct. 28.
According to the criminal complaint, Beck discovered his daughter using a cellphone provided by her mother.
“Andrew then threw the phone straight down onto the wood floor as hard as he could, causing a loud sound. He then picked it up and repeated this two to three more times. Andrew then picked up the phone and put both hands on top of it, forcing it down over a raised knee in attempts to snap it. (Juvenile Witness 1) compared this to somebody trying to break a piece of wood over their knee. Andrew again threw it to the ground, picked it back up, attempted to break it over his knee a second time. Andrew then threw it into her garbage can. He then was “cussing” and hit a water bottle off her dresser, which went flying across the room. Andrew then “smacked” the Alexa off the windowsill, which went flying under her bed,” the complaint states.
Beck told officers the phone violated room and house rules, and that he was concerned about her unsupervised access to social media.
The sheriff’s department placed him on administrative duty.
