Beckner to Serve Time

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg resident, Tysen R. Beckner, 26, was sentenced to serve three years and five months in prison for severely beating his girlfriend’s four-year-old son, last June. On Mon., Oct. 12, Walla Walla County Superior Court Judge John Lohrmann imposed the high end of the standard 31-to 41-month range for Beckner’s charge of second-degree assault.

Beckner was originally charged with first-degree assault of a child – domestic violence when his girlfriend’s son was found to have been severely beaten while in his care. Beckner fled from police and was later arrested in Nez Perce County, Ida. He originally pleaded not guilty, but changed that plea to guilty last month.

That charge had to be reduced to second-degree child assault because, even though the child was severely beaten, the assault failed to meet the legal definition of first degree assault, according to Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michelle Mulhern.

After Beckner’s arrest, five images of child pornography were found on his cell phone and he was additionally charged with possession of child pornography. Those charges were subsequently dropped due to deficiencies in the warrant.

Beckner will serve 41 months in prison with credit for the 109 days he has already served in the Walla Walla County Jail. Following his prison term, he will be placed on 18 months community custody. Beckner is currently being held at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, Wash.