A woman convicted last year of animal neglect after abandoning 84 dogs in cages near Berthoud was shot to death by two Larimer County sheriff’s deputies Thursday after a chase following a bank robbery in Loveland.
Authorities said the woman, identified as Catherine C. Cariaso, 56, and suspected of robbing the Chase Bank, pointed a “replica” handgun at the deputies.
Larimer deputies and a Berthoud police officer chased the woman, who was driving a white minivan, into Boulder County before she pulled over in the 14000 block of North 83rd Street, west of U.S. 287, north of Longmont.
After stopping, the woman jumped out of her vehicle holding what appeared to be a small revolver, said Boulder County authorities who will be investigating the shooting. The investigators had not determined how many shots were fired or why the woman pointed a toy gun at them, Boulder County sheriff’s Division Chief Dennis Hopper said.
“She exited her vehicle, leveled and pointed a firearm at the officers, and two of the deputies returned fire, hitting the suspect, subsequently killing her,” Hopper said. “It obviously was a replica toy gun, but the officers believed it was real at the time. … In that kind of situation, when someone points a weapon at you, you don’t have the time to determine what it’s made out of or if it’s a real gun.”
No officers were injured in the pursuit.
The Larimer deputies who fired the shots were placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation, Larimer sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said. The deputies’ identities will not be disclosed until they’ve been interviewed by investigators and are able to notify their families, Campanella said.
The shooting ended an almost half-hour search and pursuit for a woman who walked into the bank at 1905 W. Eisenhower Blvd. just after 1:30 p.m. The robber handed a teller a note and claimed to have a weapon before she fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, Loveland police Sgt. Rae Bontz said.
“She didn’t show a weapon while she was in the bank,” Bontz said. “As far as we know, she was alone.”
A woman who witnessed the robbery tailed the suspect and with her cellphone helped a Larimer deputy and Berthoud officer driving marked police cars locate the minivan near the intersection of County Roads 8E and 23, Hopper said. The witness’ identity was not revealed.
A Larimer sheriff’s investigator driving an unmarked vehicle also joined the pursuit, which lasted about 15 minutes and crossed the county line, Hopper said. Boulder sheriff’s deputies also responded, but the chase ended with the woman’s shooting before their arrival.
Emergency medical services were requested, but Cariaso was pronounced dead at the scene, Hopper said.
A multijurisdictional team of investigators from Boulder County will investigate the shooting with help from a Larimer sheriff’s investigator, Hopper said.
Cariaso was arrested in July 2004 on multiple counts of cruelty to animals after being accused of mistreating dozens of Labrador retrievers.
Fifty of the 84 dogs, including 34 puppies, were euthanized by the Larimer Humane Society. The euthanized dogs were extremely sick or had behavioral issues associated with mistreatment, according to a society spokeswoman. On Aug. 22 Cariaso was sentenced to 60 days in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty to 20 of 99 counts of animal cruelty, according to court records. The remaining counts were dismissed.
Campanella said late Thursday that the motive for the day’s incidents wasn’t known.
“The sheriff keeps telling me, ‘Stop being amazed at human nature,”‘ Campanella said.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1537 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
