GREELEY, Colo. — A masked man who shot up the Rancho El Corazon bar in Greeley last month vowed to come back and "kill everyone" after he had been kicked out," an arrest affidavit says.
Efren Sanchez, a longtime gang member, was arrested in connection with Aug. 13 shooting at the bar on 18th Street, according to the affidavit from the Greeley Police Department. One person was shot in the torso and a second person was shot in their leg. Both were expected to survive.
>The video above aired earlier when Sanchez was arrested.
Officer arrived around 11:15 p.m. that night and spoke with numerous witnesses who reported that shards of glass and debris "cascaded" through the bar from the gunfire outside. A total of 28 spent shell casings were recovered from the gravel lot near the front entrance, the affidavit says.
One man who detectives spoke with said he had interacted with Sanchez at the bar earlier in the evening. He reported that Sanchez was a gang member who used the moniker "shoe shine." The man said that Sanchez had been kicked out of the bar and speculated that he might have been responsible for the shooting.
Security video showed Sanchez was at the bar with his wife. She played pool with another man while they were there and eventually Sanchez began arguing with that man.
A worker said he told Sanchez if continued to cause problems he needed to leave, the affidavit says. That worker said that Sanchez and his wife left around 10:30 p.m. and that he vowed to return and kill the man he had been arguing with.
About 45 minutes later a dark sedan without its headlights on pulled up to the bar. According to the affidavit, the driver opened his door and was seen "fiddling" with a weapon. He then stood up and fired a shot into the air before firing two shots toward a truck. Sanchez also fired toward the bar entrance and security cameras, the affidavit says.
Security video shows that the shooter was wearing a "gaiter" that covered his nose, neck and bottom half of his face, the affidavit says. He was wearing socks but no shoes and had "crudely" written "north" down the side of one pant leg and "side" down the other, the affidavit says. He also had the roman numeral XIV on his shirt.
Investigators believe this "makeshift" clothing was an effort to implicate the North Side gang in the incident. Fourteen is a number that holds significance for that gang, the affidavit says.
Investigators later found the sedan used in the shooting and contacted the registered owner who said she had owned the vehicle but had recently sold it someone with the last name of Sanchez.
Sanchez was eventually located and arrested on Aug. 27. He is charged with 12 counts. They include:
- 10 counts of attempted murder
- 1 count possession of a weapon by previous offender
- 1 count crime of violence - a sentencing enhancer
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