Blooming Prairie man sentenced to prison time on felony firearm possession charge in Mower County District Court

A Blooming Prairie man who was found to be in possession of a firearm from a case involving an Austin woman who has been charged with 12 felonies for burglary and theft of a firearm and one gross misdemeanor theft charge stemming from a report of several firearms being stolen from a residence in the 900 block of 6th Avenue NW in Austin on January 28th of this year has been sentenced to prison time in Mower County District Court.

31-year-old Bradley Blaine Beckstad, who is currently incarcerated in the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Lino Lakes was convicted and sentenced Friday to five years in prison for a felony charge of being a violent felon in possession of a firearm.  Beckstad pleaded guilty to the charge on October 24th, and two additional felony charges for being a violent felon in possession of a firearm, plus a misdemeanor charge for driving after cancellation in the case were dismissed with Beckstad’s guilty plea.  

28-year old April Taylor Arends of Austin has been charged with felonies for 1st degree burglary, possession of a dangerous weapon or explosive, 2nd degree burglary, and 10 felony counts of theft of a firearm, plus a gross misdemeanor theft charge stemming from the reported theft of firearms from the Austin residence on January 28th. Arends pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against her on May 9th, and a pretrial hearing for Arends in Mower County District Court has been scheduled for March 10th, 2023, and a jury trial has been scheduled for March 20th.