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A Colorado man has been found guilty in federal court of kidnapping a housekeeper working on a ranch owned by Michael Bloomberg as part of what prosecutors said was a plot to kill the billionaire.
Joseph Beecher, 51, faces seven years to life in prison following his Wednesday conviction in Wyoming. He was charged with kidnapping, carjacking, and firearms violations. Jury deliberations last two hours after a two-day trial.
The woman he kidnapped was rescued the day after she was abducted and was unharmed during the ordeal.
Police found the victim and Beecher at a Cheyenne, Wyoming motel approximately 200 miles northeast of Bloomberg’s ranch, according to The Washington Times.
Beecher kidnapped the woman in February 2022 after he was fired from his hotel maintenance job in Craig, Colorado, approximately 70 miles (113km) from Bloomberg’s ranch.
Joseph Beecher, 51, faces seven years to life in prison following his conviction in federal court for kidnapping, carjacking, and firearms violations after he took a housekeeper at Michael Bloomberg’s Colorado ranch hostage in February 2022 (Laramie County Sheriff’s Office)
At the time, Beecher was working for the hotel in exchange for a place to live, but he was asked to leave the property, according to court documents.
Prosecutors did not reveal a motive for why Beecher was specifically seeking out Bloomberg and those close to him, but they did argue that he was “intent on killing” the former New York City mayor.
After his firing, Beecher sought out Bloomberg and his family members, and eventually drove his truck through the front gate of the media mogul’s ranch in Colorado. He then proceeded to the property, where he encountered the housekeeper.
She told investigators she was working upstairs in one of the ranch buildings when she heard someone in the house. The woman said Beecher asked who she was and that he was holding a black “machine gun,” which she said he pointed at her.
The “machine gun” was likely an AR-15 that Beecher had allegedly stolen during a burglary that occurred earlier in the day. Prosecutors said the rifle and ammunition had been stolen from the living quarters of Beecher’s former employer.
Beecher ordered the woman at gunpoint into her husband’s pickup truck — leaving his own truck at the ranch — and demanded that she drive him to the Denver area, where he then told her to take him to Cheyenne.
Once they reached the Wyoming city, he told her to stop and got a motel room, which is where law enforcement eventually caught up with Beecher.
Investigators managed to find Beecher by tracking the woman’s iPad to the motel. Once they arrived they reviewed security footage and confirmed that the two were at the motel.
A SWAT team raided the room and took Beecher into custody.
