Jury Convicts Colorado Man for Kidnapping Employee from Michael Bloomberg’s Ranch

CHEYENNE - A federal jury convicted a Colorado man yesterday for kidnapping a woman from Michael Bloomberg’s ranch in February 2022.

Joseph Beecher, 51, of Craig, was convicted of kidnapping, carjacking, using/carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, and transportation of stolen firearms.

According to evidence presented at trial, Beecher lived and worked at an apartment complex in Craig. In the early morning hours of Feb. 2, 2022, Beecher was 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. Beecher then drove to a ranch in Colorado owned by Michael Bloomberg, intent on killing Mr. Bloomberg, but finding only a female employee present on the property. Beecher took the woman 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 eventually forced the woman at gunpoint to drive him to the Stage Coach Motel in Cheyenne, where Beecher could rest and figure out his next criminal act. In the early morning hours of February 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, 2022. Sentencing has been set for November 18. Beecher faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any 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.  

Case No. 22-CR-00028

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN

###