Port Angeles Man Remains Behind Bars After Senator Mike Chapman Thwarts Neighbor Attack
Following a brutal, unprovoked attack on a 71-year-old Port Angeles man over the weekend, the 6-foot-8 suspect is now slated for an in-custody psychological evaluation.
Joseph “Wes” Beeman, 46, appeared in court again on Wednesday, April 1, but this time before Judge Barnhart instead of Judge Brent Basden.
Throughout the proceeding, Beeman remained entirely non-responsive.
Noting his client’s condition, Beeman’s public defender, Harry Gasnick, requested an in-custody competency evaluation.
Judge Barnhart agreed to the request, formally finding probable cause for the charges and setting a return date of April 10 at 1:00 p.m. to review the competency findings.
Adjusting the No-Contact Order
During the brief hearing, the court also quickly resolved a logistical wrinkle regarding the safety of the victim, Robert Graul.
During Beeman’s initial appearance on Monday, Judge Basden had imposed a standard no-contact order upon release. However, because Beeman and Graul are next-door neighbors, the standard boilerplate language—which typically prohibits a defendant from coming within 1,000 feet of a victim’s residence—presented an obvious conflict.
Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols suggested modifying the standard language to better fit the reality of their proximity.
Gasnick raised no objections, and Judge Barnhart adopted a pre-arraignment no-contact order with similar language to what Nichols suggested.
Interestingly, while Beeman is barred from contacting Graul, the court did not place any restrictions on Beeman contacting Senator Chapman, despite Chapman being the one who physically thwarted the attack.
It is possible Judge Barnhart avoided issuing a protective order regarding Chapman to sidestep thorny constitutional issues, as outright banning a citizen from contacting a sitting state senator could run afoul of the First Amendment right to petition the government.
A History of Stopping Dangerous Men
The weekend assault could easily have ended in a fatality if not for the fearless intervention of Senator Chapman, who witnessed the attack from his window and threw his own body over the elderly victim to shield him from Beeman’s blows.
But jumping into the line of fire to stop a dangerous threat is nothing new for the Port Angeles lawmaker. Long before entering politics, Chapman spent the late 1990s serving as a federal U.S. Customs Inspector.
On the evening of December 14, 1999, Chapman was working at the Port Angeles port of entry when an al-Qaeda-trained terrorist named Ahmed Ressam—later known as the “Millennium Bomber”—drove a rental car off the ferry from Victoria, British Columbia.
Unbeknownst to the agents at the time, Ressam’s trunk was loaded with over 100 pounds of explosive materials destined for a massive attack on the Los Angeles International Airport.
When fellow inspectors discovered white powder hidden in the spare tire well, Ressam bolted from the vehicle. Chapman, in full uniform, chased the fleeing terrorist into the street and drew his service weapon.
Undeterred, Ressam darted through traffic and attempted to carjack a passenger vehicle at a nearby traffic light before Chapman and his fellow officers ultimately tackled and arrested him.
Nearly twenty-seven years after taking down a global terrorist on the streets of Port Angeles, Chapman’s protective instincts proved just as sharp this past weekend when he put his own safety on the line to save his neighbor.
As Beeman awaits his April 10 competency review, the community has expressed gratitude for Chapman’s swift, life-saving actions.