A federal jury Wednesday convicted a Colorado man who kidnapped a woman from Michael Bloomberg’s ranch two years ago and held her hostage in a Cheyenne motel before being taken by a tactical response team.
Joseph Beecher, 51, of Craig, Colorado, was convicted of kidnapping, carjacking, using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and transporting stolen firearms, says a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Beecher lived and worked at an apartment complex in Craig at the time.
In the early morning hours of Feb. 2, 2022, Beecher’s employer ended his employment.
In response, Beecher broke into his employer’s home and stole two guns, including a Bushmaster AR-style rifle, says the statement.
He drove to Michael Bloomberg’s ranch in Colorado, intent on killing the media mogul.
Finding only a female employee on the property, he took her hostage at gunpoint and forced her to drive him to various sites so he could find and kill another media mogul in Colorado, the statement says.
On To Cheyenne
Unable to find his second target, Beecher forced the woman at gunpoint to drive him to the Stage Coach Motel on Lincolnway in Cheyenne, where he could rest and plot his next action.
Early the next morning, Cheyenne Police Department SWAT officers rescued the woman, unharmed, and arrested Beecher at the motel.
U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson oversaw Beecher’s trial this week. The man was first indicted March 17, 2022, and pleaded not guilty four days later.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and up to life in prison, the statement says.
The judge will determine Beecher’s 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 the Craig Police Department investigated the case.
Joseph Beecher was arrested at a Cheyenne motel on Feb. 3, 2022, after kidnapping a woman from Michael Bloomberg's ranch in Colorado, then driving 350 miles to Cheyenne. He was captured by a SWAT team at the Stage Coach Motel. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Joseph Beecher was arrested at a Cheyenne motel on Feb. 3, 2022, after kidnapping a woman from Michael Bloomberg's ranch in Colorado, then driving 350 miles to Cheyenne. He was captured by a SWAT team at the Stage Coach Motel. (Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily)
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
