Greeley man sentenced to 1,016 years in prison for bar shooting in '22
Published on June 16, 2025
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) A Weld County judge handed down more than 1,000 years in prison Friday to a man who fired nearly 30 rounds from a rifle at people at a Greeley bar in 2022.
Weld County District Court Judge Vincente Vigil sentenced Efren Sanchez to a total of 1,016 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after a jury convicted him of the following 52 charges in April:
25 counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder in the First Degree – after deliberation
25 counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder in the First Degree – extreme indifference
2 counts of Crime of Violence (Sentencing Enhancer)
On August 13, 2022, Greeley police responded to a shooting at Rancho El Corazon bar, where two victims were found shot. Both were transported to the hospital and survived.
During the investigation, Greeley police identified Sanchez as the shooter. The defendant was seen on video leaving the bar after he felt “disrespected” by another bar patron.
Shortly after leaving, Sanchez was then seen returning to the bar, armed with a rifle. Video surveillance showed Sanchez firing several rounds at people outside the bar, before firing several more rounds into the bar from outside the building. He fired a total of 28 rounds.
“It’s only by the grace of God that no one was killed that night,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea said during Friday’s sentencing hearing. “It’s not for the lack of trying. The defendant tried to kill that night. He didn’t try once. He shot at the bar over and over again as people scrambled for their lives. He may have not killed anyone that night, but he killed their spirits.”
During Friday’s sentencing hearing, CDDA Perea read a victim impact statement for one of the victims who was shot.
“On the night of August 13, 2022, I felt that my life was going to end and I would not see the next day,” the victim wrote. “I would begin to live the next years with so much anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. No longer being able to have a social life for fear of being killed. I never imagined that at my age I would have to receive psychological help for going out to have fun.”
Before the judge handed down the sentence, he told the defendant he wasn’t going to “sugarcoat” anything.
“This is one of the most horrific crimes that has ever happened in Weld County,” Judge Vigil said. “You could have easily killed multiple, multiple people. It boggles my mind you felt like that was an appropriate way to react to a minimal and insignificant situation. You’ve demonstrated that you are a danger to society and our community. This is a just sentence, and a fair sentence, when I consider the horrible nature of this case.”
In addition to Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia also prosecuted this case.