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A Colorado man has been sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for kidnapping a housekeeper at Michael Bloomberg’s Colorado ranch after attempting to kill the businessman. Joseph Beecher, 51, of Craig, Colorado, was convicted on charges of kidnapping, carjacking, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and transporting stolen firearms. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson, will be followed by five years of supervised release.

Beecher, who represented himself during his trial with minimal assistance from court-appointed counsel, was found guilty on all counts by a Wyoming federal jury in late August. The sentencing, initially scheduled for last month, was delayed to allow Beecher's victim, a housekeeper identified as “A.E.,” and her husband to attend in person.

According to the criminal complaint filed in February 2022, Beecher rammed his 1997 Mazda pickup truck through the main gate of Bloomberg’s private ranch. Surveillance footage showed Beecher exiting his vehicle and inspecting the gate. Prosecutors revealed that earlier that day, Beecher had stolen firearms, including an AR-15 rifle, from his employer following an argument.

Intending to kill Bloomberg, Beecher drove to the ranch, but only found the supervising housekeeper. He then kidnapped her at gunpoint and forced her to drive him in her Ford 150 XTR pickup truck as he searched for another media mogul in Colorado. However, he was unable to locate the second target.

Beecher then compelled the housekeeper to drive him to a motel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, over 200 miles away. In the early morning hours of February 3, 2022, SWAT officers from the Cheyenne Police Department rescued the housekeeper and arrested Beecher at the motel.

Beecher, who has filed a notice to appeal the sentence, is represented by Thomas A. Fleener of Fleener Law PC. The government’s case was handled by Margaret Vierbuchen of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming.

The case is U.S. v. Joseph Beecher, case number 1:22-cr-00028, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.