DENVER (CBS4) – Justin Vigil, 31, of Denver, was sentenced Wednesday to more than three years in prison for breaking into and burglarizing a Littleton gun store in 2018. Vigil, per court documents, was part of a violent “smash and grab” organization that used stolen vehicles in thefts from several metro Denver gun stores and other retailers.
Vigil, along with Jonathan Estrada, also of Denver, threw a rock through glass to gain access inside Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply at 4:10 a.m. on January 18th, 2018. They were inside the store three minutes and stole 13 AR-15 style firearms, according to prosecutors.
That night, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) obtained a search warrant for Estrada’s residence. They found him inside, unconscious due to excessive consumption of alcohol, with a pistol laying next to his head, according to case documents. Five firearms from the burglary were found in the apartment along with Murdoch’s sales tags and a handwritten ledger listing Murdoch’s and other locations to be burglarized.
Estrada, 21, confessed to authorities. He was sentenced in February for the Murdoch’s theft, a carjacking, and another gun store burglary. He received eight years in prison.
Vigil, meanwhile, cut off his ankle monitor six months after the Murdoch’s incident and fled. Court documents do not indicate the details of his capture.
Vigil received a 39 month prison term and three years supervised release. He was prosecuted for the Murdoch’s theft only.
According to ATF statistics specific to Colorado, in 2019 there were 135 firearms stolen in 9 separate burglaries. In 2018, there were 64 firearms stolen in 8 separate burglaries. And in 2017, there were 427 firearms stolen in 28 separate burglaries. Nationally in 2019 there were 21,535 firearms stolen in 2,576 separate burglaries.