Greeley Man Sentenced 20 Years for String of Armed Robberies
A 28-year-old Greeley man will be spending the next 20 years of his life behind bars after being sentenced in a Weld County court room in late October. The judge handed Vito Mata 20 years in prison after months of police investigations led to finding his involvement in a string of armed robberies that took place in the Greeley area.
The initial investigation began in early February, when a 71-year-old reported to police that he had been robbed at gunpoint inside of his apartment in central Greeley. According to the report, the man stated a female knocked on his door on the evening of February 3. When the man opened his door, a male, who has now been identified as Mata, stormed into the apartment with a gun, aimed it at him and demanded money and other valuable items. In this incident, Mata and the unidentified female got away with $6,000 as well as other miscellaneous items from the residence.
On February 9, another call was made to police by two men claiming they were robbed at gunpoint inside their Greeley home. The story was almost identical to the February 3 occurrence, in that a female reportedly knocked on the door first, but this time when the men answered, she was the one who forced her way inside and demanded money. However, several minutes later, Mata also entered the home and held a gun to the residents' heads, while demanding they hand over their wallets. In this robbery, the couple managed to get away with approximately $200 in cash, as well as a $200 paycheck from one of the victims’ employer.
About a week later, on February 15, an employee at the Greeley Old Navy called police to report two males who had just fled from the store after stealing several pairs of jeans. One of these men was identified as Mata.
That same day, another report was made by a man saying he was robbed at gunpoint at his home in Greeley. In this scenario, the victim told police that a female and male lured him outside and that the male hit him in the head with a pistol and demanded money. Mata and the female got away with the victims' cell phone, but no money.
The following day, February 16, another male victim called police from a neighbor’s home saying that he and his roommate had just been robbed at gunpoint by two men inside their Greeley trailer. The men got away with both of the victims’ cell phones, a rifle and roughly $1,000.
Vito Mata has now been linked to all of these robberies. At the time of this report, it is unknown who the female or other male accomplice are in these cases.