MEEKER | The man charged with kidnapping a Meeker woman from Westlands Ranch in February 2022 has been found guilty on all counts by a Federal court jury in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Joseph Lee Beecher, who was 48 at the time of the crime, burglarized a residence in Craig and stole two guns the morning of Feb. 2, 2022. He then drove to Westlands Ranch east of Meeker, where he claimed he was searching for the adult daughters of Michael Bloomberg, who were not present. He kidnapped the supervising housekeeper at gunpoint, and forced her to drive her vehicle to Wyoming. Video surveillance gave local law enforcement and FBI agents a trail to follow. Beecher was arrested without incident in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, 2022 at a Cheyenne motel and the woman was rescued.
Beecher was charged with kidnapping, carjacking, using/carrying/brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and transportation of stolen firearms. While in custody in Wyoming, Beecher underwent a competency hearing and was assigned an attorney “on standby” while acting as his own counsel.
In May 2024, Beecher filed a handwritten 23-page complaint against the United States alleging “treason, genocide, and fraud” related to COVID-19, the Federal Reserve and the IRS, AIDS, immigration, 5G, vaccines, and Bill Gates, among others. A judge dismissed that case with prejudice as “frivolous.”
The 12-person jury was seated on Aug. 26 and reached its verdict on Aug. 28. Rio Blanco County Undersheriff Travis Mobley testified during the trial, as did the kidnap victim and her husband, among others.
Beecher remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service while awaiting sentencing.
