Kidnapping conviction in Bloomberg ranch case

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Yesterday, Aug. 28, a federal jury convicted a Colorado man of kidnapping a woman from Michael Bloomberg’s ranch in February 2022.

Joseph Beecher, 51, of Craig, was found guilty of kidnapping, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and transporting stolen firearms.

Evidence presented at trial revealed that Beecher lived and worked at an apartment complex in Craig. In the early hours of Feb. 2, 2022, after being informed by his employer that his services were no longer needed, Beecher broke into his employer’s home and stole two firearms, including a Bushmaster AR-style rifle. He then drove to Bloomberg’s ranch in Colorado with the intent to kill Bloomberg.

Finding only a female employee on the property, Beecher took her hostage at gunpoint and forced her to drive him to various locations in an effort to locate and kill another media mogul in Colorado. Unable to find his second target, Beecher forced the woman to drive him to the Stage Coach Motel in Cheyenne, where he planned his next move.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 2022, SWAT officers with the Cheyenne Police Department rescued the woman and arrested Beecher at the motel. The woman was physically unharmed.

The trial was held before U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson in Cheyenne.

Beecher was indicted on March 17, 2022, and pleaded not guilty on March 21. Sentencing is set for Nov. 18, 2024. Beecher faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Vierbuchen prosecuted the case.

The FBI, Cheyenne Police Department, Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Craig Police Department investigated the case.