Folden Must Pay $2,991 In Restitution

The Coloradoan
by Maria Servold

An 8th Judicial District judge ruled Monday that the woman who ripped up a lithograph print at the Loveland Museum/Gallery in October must pay a total of $2,991.13 in restitution costs to both the city of Loveland and an insurance agency.

Kathleen Folden, 47, was arrested Oct. 6 after she smashed a Plexiglas case and ripped artist Enrique Chagoya’s lithograph print, “The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals” to pieces.

The prosecution asked for $6,748, citing the value of the print, its framing, staff cleanup and counseling.

Judge Thomas French issued a written statement noon Monday stating Folden must pay $1,064.76 to the city of Loveland for regular time and overtime spent by city employees during the incident but tossed out prosecutors’ requests for additional payment for special counseling after the incident.

Folden will pay a total of $1,926.37 to the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency, or CIRSA, the company that originally paid Bud Shark, the print’s owner, $5,225 for the print and its frame.

French noted in his ruling the defense’s arguments about fair market value for the print and other works by Chagoya.

Prosecutor Josh Lehman said in an e-mail statement Monday afternoon that he is fine with the judge’s ruling, despite having asked for more than $6,000 in restitution.

“I agree completely with the judge’s order regarding the city of Loveland,” Lehman said in the statement. “I understand Judge French’s reasoning in the valuation of the artwork, however, I did argue at the hearing that $3,000 was a better indicator of value, as that was the cost of the most recent sale.”

Folden’s attorneys, Derek Samuelson and Cliff Stricklin, could not be reached Monday afternoon.

According to French’s written ruling, CIRSA did not do due diligence when awarding Shark the $5,225 and CIRSA employee Lara Wilbur admitted she did not research the claim before awarding the amount last fall.

In November, Folden pleaded guilty to Class 1 misdemeanor criminal mischief. Previously, she pleaded not guilty to Class 4 felony criminal mischief.

As part of the agreement, Folden must maintain law-abiding behavior, pay restitution to the victims, perform 24 hours of useful public service and have no contact with the Loveland Museum/Gallery. She is also serving 18 months of unsupervised probation and agreed to attend mental-health meetings.

Folden walked into the Loveland Museum/Gallery on Oct. 6 and smashed a Plexiglas case with a crowbar before ripping Chagoya’s print to pieces and then sitting down on the floor of the Museum/Gallery and waiting for police to arrive