A Colorado man was convicted on Wednesday on multiple charges related to a kidnapping at former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ranch in Rio Blanco County in February 2022.
The jury found Joseph Beecher, 51, of Craig guilty of kidnapping, carjacking, using/carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, and transportation of stolen firearms.
This case started on Feb. 2, 2022. Beecher lived and worked at a hotel in Craig and had argued with his employer and landlord, the complaint reads. Early on the morning of Feb. 2, Beecher's employer told him that his services were no longer needed. Beecher then broke into his employer's home, stole two firearms, including a Bushmaster AR-style rifle, and drove to the ranch with the intent to kill Bloomberg, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming.
He arrived around 10:15 a.m., according to a complaint filed in court, and rammed his car through the main gate. Security cameras captured him driving his pickup onto the property.
Beecher did not find the Bloombergs at the ranch, as they were not at the property that day. However, he saw an employee — a supervising housekeeper, according to the complaint — on the property. Investigators said Beecher asked her where the billionaire’s daughters were and later went on rants about Bloomberg, saying he wanted to “make an international scene” with him or his daughters, the Associated Press reported.
Beecher then took the woman hostage at gunpoint, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The Rio Blanco County Communications Center received a 911 call about a truck that had trespassed off of Rio Blanco County Road 17 around 12:30 p.m. and responded. Around the same time, a 46-year-old woman from Meeker was reported missing, and possibly kidnapped by Beecher. A statewide Endangered Missing Alert was issued for her.
As authorities started their investigation, Beecher forced the woman to drive him to several locations around the Denver metro area "in an effort to locate and kill another media mogul in Colorado," the U.S. Attorney's Office reported, but could not find the person he was searching for.
He forced the woman to drive him to the Stage Coach Motel, located at 1515 W. Lincoln in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to decide on his next steps, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office
Around 11:15 p.m. that evening, officers with the Cheyenne Police Department saw the suspect's car at the motel and obtained surveillance footage of the woman paying for a motel room with cash, according to the complaint. The footage also showed a man matching Beecher's description carrying bags into the room.
Around 2:30 a.m. the next morning, the Cheyenne Police Department's SWAT team rescued the woman and arrested Beecher at the motel. They found that the woman was not harmed and was reunited with her family. Beecher had multiple firearms in his possession when he was arrested, according to the Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office.
The Bloombergs cooperated with the investigation, the sheriff's office said. The Cheyenne Police Department said Beecher does not have any connections to the victim or the Bloomberg family.
Beecher was indicted on March 17, 2022 and pleaded not guilty a few days later. His trial was held in Cheyenne and the jury convicted him on Wednesday
His sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 18. Based on the charges he was convicted of, he faces a minimum sentence of seven years and up to life in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
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