Colorado Fugitive Arrested Decades After Shooting Rookie Denver Police Officer
DENVER (CBS4) - A former Denver police officer who was shot when he was a rookie cop and survived has gotten closure in the case 46 years after it happened. On Wednesday the FBI arrested Lawrence "Larry" Pusateri, the shooter of Officer Daril Cinquanta in 1971 on the 4400 block of Mariposa Street.
Pusateri also goes by the names Luis Archuleta and Ramon Montoya. He escaped from the Colorado Department of Corrections in 1974 after he was convicted of assaulting that officer.
Pusateri is now 77 and had been living in Española, New Mexico, and Cinquanta had a role in finding him.
"Many members our community were hurt by Luis Archuleta's actions. The passing of time does not erase or excuse his crimes," Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen said in a prepared statement.
FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider called Pusateri a "dangerous fugitive" in a prepared statement. Pusateri was featured more than once on the television show "America's Most Wanted."
"This arrest should send a clear signal to violent offenders everywhere: The FBI will find you, no matter how long it takes or how far you run, and we will bring you to justice," he said.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Cinquanta spent 46 years tracking the man and finally was able to crack the case when he learned of the arrest of a man named Ramon Montoya 9 years ago in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, on a drunken driving charge. Montoya turned out to be the same person as Pusateri.
