Investigators say Laura Ebbs assisted her boyfriend Eric Reynolds in robbery of a Glenwood Springs convenience store in January by driving a getaway car until it had a minor accident, where New Castle Police officers fatally shot Reynolds.
Ebbs, 37 and a resident of Parachute, faces charges of accessory to a robbery and vehicular eluding, both felonies.
Reynolds allegedly robbed El Azteca in West Glenwood Jan. 11, and Ebbs told police that she was driving the Subaru when he came out of the store.
Ebbs told police that she did not know what Reynolds was doing inside the store, but said when Reynolds “came running out and she didn’t know what was going on,” according to a probable cause document.
Reynolds told “go, go go, so she took off, Ebbs stated” according to the affidavit.
One man had walked into the store while Reynolds demanded the cashier open the cash register, and told police that he went back to his truck.
The truck followed the car Ebbs was driving, and kept in contact with emergency dispatch as the pair drove West on Interstate 70. Witnesses in the car told police they saw someone in the passengers’ seat drop something out of the window at one point that could have been a gun.
Ebbs told police that she kept driving out of fear she and Reynolds would get “gunned down,” since that’s what Reynolds kept saying, according to the affidavit.
New Castle Police attempted to stop them, but the car turned around and eluded them, eventually crashing in deteriorating winter conditions near mile marker 107, facing eastbound in the westbound lane of I-70.
Reynolds apparently got out of the vehicle, and several shots were fired.
According to Garfield County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Walt Stowe, Reynolds attempted to flee and allegedly brandished a weapon.
Ebbs told investigators that police had no reason to shoot Reynolds, and said he “was not a threat to nobody. He was upset, he was scared actually.”
She said he got out of the car and tried to run, but returned because the police had AR-15s, Ebbs said.
Investigators asked if he was getting into the car, or reaching for something in the car and Ebbs said she didn’t know.
Investigators did not find a gun where witnesses say they saw someone in the car throw something black out the door.
But they did find a gun at the crash scene near the driver’s side door where Reynolds fell after being shot.
Investigators also learned of several robberies that may have involved Reynolds and Ebbs.
A car matching Reynolds’ Subaru was tied to a Grand Junction robbery on Jan. 8. Another robbery in unincorporated Mesa County, and a home invasion could also be tied to the pair.
A witness to one of those robberies described a female matching Ebbs’ description, and wearing tall black boots. Similar boots were found in the backseat of the Subaru, according to the affidavit.
Ebbs was arrested March 3 and booked in the Garfield County jail, where she is being held on $10,000 bond.