Key details of the case involve a man from Michael Bloomberg’s Colorado ranch being sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for kidnapping a woman, with prosecutors alleging it was an unsuccessful plot to harm the media tycoon.
The defendant, Joseph Lee Beecher, 51, had the possibility of being imprisoned for life following his conviction in August by a jury on multiple charges, including kidnapping, carjacking, and firearm offenses. In a ruling delivered in Cheyenne by U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson, Beecher was also instructed to provide $5,306 in restitution, as per court documents.
The victim of the abduction, a domestic worker at Bloomberg’s ranch in western Colorado, was safely rescued the morning after the incident. Law enforcement discovered both the woman and Beecher at a Cheyenne motel room, located around 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the northeast of Bloomberg’s estate.
Beecher represented himself during his three day trial.
Crime
Craig man convicted on charges related to kidnapping at Bloomberg ranch
He was returned to custody following the sentencing hearing and could not be reached immediately for comment. He was being held Friday at the Scotts Bluff County jail in Gering, Nebraska.
The kidnapping happened in February 2022, after Beecher was dismissed from his job as a hotel handyman in Craig, Colorado. Beecher broke into his employer’s home, stole two rifles including an AR-15 and went looking for Bloomberg, according to officials.
Beecher’s motivation for seeking Bloomberg was unclear but prosecutors said he was “intent” on killing the billionaire.
Later that day the defendant rammed his pickup truck through the gate of the former New York City mayor’s ranch about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from Craig, according to court documents.
But Bloomberg, who bought the ranch in 2020 for $44.8 million, was not there. The housekeeper, who didn’t know Beecher, was abducted at gunpoint and they drove in her husband’s truck first to the Denver area and then to Cheyenne.
Investigators traced the woman’s iPad to a motel where they saw the pickup truck. A SWAT team raided it, freeing the woman and arresting Beecher.
Drone footage of Joseph Beecher’s arrest
After Beecher said he wanted to represent himself in the case, the court appointed Laramie attorney Thomas Fleener as the defendant’s standby counsel for the trial.
Fleener declined comment on the sentence.
