Man accused of robbing Famous Footwear in Longmont strikes deal with prosecutors

A man pleaded guilty Friday to an armed robbery of a Famous Footwear store in Longmont in 2023.

Efrain Reyes, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of menacing and another count of robbery. All other charges were dropped.

He was sentenced to a total of six years in prison, with 261 days of time already served being credited to him. He was sentenced to two years for the threat and four years for the robbery.

The case against Reyes’ co-defendant Anderson Zuniga Mendoza was dismissed in February due to lack of admissibility.

In court, Boulder District Judge Dea Lindsey advised Reyes to take advantage of programs offered at the prison.

“You’re way too young for this to be the beginning of your adult life,” Lindsey said. “I think you’ll finish that sentence. I think you’ll come out better for it, I hope so.”

According to an affidavit, Longmont police officers were dispatched to 205 Ken Pratt Blvd. at 6:19 p.m. on August 23, where a shooting was in progress. Police were informed that the suspect’s vehicle had left the scene in a “cream-colored van,” later identified as a stolen gold Chevy Tahoe.

When officers arrived, they found a store window damaged by gunshot wounds, according to the affidavit. Police believe Mendoza was carrying a semi-automatic pistol and fired one shot into the air before aiming at the store and firing a shot through the window, narrowly missing store employees and customers — including three children — inside the store.

Police determined that before leaving the store, Mendoza pointed his handgun at a store manager on duty, just a foot from the manager’s face, while other suspects left the store with shoe boxes. Mendoza is then suspected of leaving the store before Reyes attempted to leave with shoe boxes in his arms, according to the affidavit.

According to police, the store manager pushed Reyes as he was leaving the store to prevent him from escaping. However, Reyes allegedly escaped and ran to the suspect’s vehicle. The store manager then took photos of the suspects, including one image of Mendoza pointing a gun at the store manager, the affidavit states.

Police suspect Reyes helped load $1,001 worth of stolen goods into the vehicle.

According to police, the four suspects were linked to other armed robberies in Thornton and Aurora on the same day.