Colorado Fugitive Arrested After 40 Years on the Run
This is a story that I expect to be made into a Dateline NBC show or something along those lines as a Colorado Fugitive that was on the run for 40 years has now been captured. The details were first announced by Sante Fe New Mexico after the arrest was made yesterday with FBI agents and New Mexico law enforcement officers.
77-year-old Lawrence Pusateri, aka Luis Archuleta, escaped from a Colorado prison back in 1974 and had been living under the name Ramon Montoya. But this wasn't Pusateri's first escape as was already sentenced to prison for shooting Denver Police Officer Daril Cinquanta back in 1971. Luckily officer Cinquanta did survive and was excited to hear about the capture of Pusateri after all these years.
Officer Cinquanta followed the case for 46 years but then he got the break that lead him and other officers to the location that Pusateri was located. In the following days, the warrants were issued and U.S. District Country for the District of Colorado charged him with escape and fleeing.
As law enforcement officials got the paperwork in order it was confirmed that Pusateri had been arrested in 2011 under the name Roman Montoya on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. His fingerprints were not found from that arrest but the mug shot was enough.
When the arrest took place Pusateri was at home with his wife, and first denied he was Lawrence Pusateri but after confirming tattoos he was taken into custody.
Pusateri had been featured on America's Most Wanted the television show in both 2009 and 2010. But after 46 years of detective work he is now behind bars.