Hours after an altercation in one state led to a burglary, armed kidnapping, and hostage rescue, a man from northwest Colorado was sentenced on Thursday to 22 years in prison.
The decision put an end to a bizarre and hazardous episode that occurred at the property that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently bought.
The 51-year-old Joseph Beecher worked and resided in a Craig apartment complex. He and his boss got into a fight early on February 2, 2022.
Case filings state that after the argument, Beecher broke into his employer’s home. His haul included an AR-15 and two other firearms.
After that, Beecher traveled over fifty miles to the Bloomberg ranch outside of Meeker.
Two years prior, Bloomberg had paid over $44 million for the over 4,000-acre Westlands property. A 19,000-square-foot house with five bedrooms, a wine cellar, a theater, a wet bar, and a library was part of the transaction.
A private two-mile section of the White River, guest cottages, staff accommodation, a helicopter, a private golf course, and an outdoor pool are all included in the package.
Beecher drove his Mazda pickup to the ranch, slammed the front gate, pulled onto the property, and entered the house. He sneaked into one of the bedrooms above and caught a housekeeper.
Investigators were later informed by the woman that as she turned around, a man was pointing what she described as a machine pistol at her face. She recalled that the man had threatened to “shoot her f***ing face off,”
Beecher departed the ranch with the woman in her husband’s pickup after taking her captive.
Within hours, Colorado issued a state-wide alert.
After traveling to Denver, Beecher and the woman went north to Cheyenne, where they checked into a hotel in the late afternoon.
Officers from the Cheyenne Police Department were notified of the stolen pickup in the hotel parking lot just before midnight. A SWAT team was assembled and the hotel was encircled when Beecher’s appearance was verified on the CCTV footage.
Surprisingly, another hotel room caught fire around 2:30 a.m. When a man was pulled from that room by Cheyenne officers, the SWAT team moved into Beecher’s room, kicked in the door, and arrested Beecher. The room also included the AR-15.
Investigators were later informed by the abducted woman that Beecher forced her to lie with him in the same bed, her head resting on his chest.
In April, Beecher was found able to stand trial after undergoing a mental health evaluation during court hearings.
He elected to represent himself, eschewing his right to legal representation. In August, he received a conviction.
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A federal judge in Wyoming sentenced Beecher to 15 years in prison for kidnapping, carjacking, and smuggling stolen firearms on Thursday.
Concurrent, or simultaneous, service of the sentences on those offenses is planned. Because Beecher used a gun during a violent crime, he was sentenced to an additional seven years.
Upon his release from jail, Beecher was also had to pay almost $5,000 for the damage he did, turn in three firearms, and serve five years of supervised probation.
