LOVELAND — The neighbor of a couple slain by police after a bank robbery said Saturday the pair made a “desperate, ridiculous mistake.”
But the neighbor, Gina Blanton, said she “never felt threatened” when she was around Christian Benshoof and Ashley Johnson.
“It was very pleasant,” Blanton said of the relationship with them.
The couple were killed Thursday in a shootout with Westminster police after they allegedly robbed the FirstBank branch at West 120th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.
The Adams County coroner’s office said Friday that Benshoof, 35, was shot multiple times, and a bullet to his head caused his death.
Johnson, 25, also had multiple gunshot wounds, but it was bullet to her chest that caused her death.
The chase and shooting are still being investigated by the Adams County Critical Incident Team.
The investigators will submit their findings to Adams County District Attorney Don Quick. The report will include a determination of whether the shooting by police was justified.
Blanton said she first met the couple about a month and a half ago when she went to thank them for helping a friend of hers get a ride home. During that visit, Blanton severely cut her right hand on a knife that Benshoof had been sharpening.
The couple felt bad, Blanton said, and offered to run errands for her. Johnson cooked meals for her.
She said the couple loved music and she would debate politics and religion with Benshoof, who she said was more outgoing than Johnson. She described the latter as being very sweet and intelligent and someone who enjoyed listening to religious sermons with her.
Blanton said the woman was looking for a job but they did not discuss any financial woes or worries.
Blanton described the couple as “loving” and that two days before the bank robbery they had told her they were planning to take a short trip to El Paso, Texas.
Two police officers were wounded in the shootout. On Friday, Westminster police Officer Sean Chandler, who was shot in the hip and hospitalized at St. Anthony Central, was released.
Deputy Chief Tim Carlson was grazed by a bullet and did not require hospitalization.
The FBI said the two robbers were not suspects in any other bank robberies.
Annette Espinoza: 303-954-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com
