GOLDEN — Herbert P. Beck, 57, of Lakewood pleaded guilty today to one count of extortion in connection with an alleged plot to kill a debtor with rattlesnakes.
Beck and Christopher Steelman, 34, of Lakewood have been charged with trying to kill Matthew Sowash, owner of the Amateur Poker Tour in Wheat Ridge, because he owed them $60,000, court documents show.
Investigators said Steelman told them the two men discussed ways to kill Sowash and that Beck suggested building a wooden box to hold rattlesnakes with a lid designed to hold Sowash’s legs inside.
In August, Beck was arrested in Raton, N.M., and Steelman was arrested in Lakewood.
The Jefferson County district attorney’s office also charged both men with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Those charges have been dismissed.
Beck pleaded guilty to extortion for threatening to do things such as the snakes in a box and kidnapping Sowash’s children to use them as leverage to get the money.
Beck will be sentenced on the extortion charge Jan. 22. He remains in the Jefferson County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Steelman will be arraigned Nov. 26 on an extortion charge.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
