The 23-year-old Aurora man who police arrested in Frisco on Aug. 1, 2024, after he allegedly brandished a firearm and ran from police faced sentencing Aug. 11 in a Summit County courtroom.

Santino Gallardo faced two felony and two misdemeanor charges for menacing with a weapon, weapon possession by a previous offender, violation of a protection order and obstructing a peace officer, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to the felony menacing charge, dismissing the other charges.

Judge Reed Owens oversaw Gallardo’s sentencing and said that, although the prosecution requested it, Gallardo did not get into community corrections, which is an alternative to prison incarceration for felony offenders.

Deputy district attorney Jeanine Svoboda said it was “unfortunate” Gallardo was not accepted into the program, meaning he would have to go to the Colorado Department of Corrections. The prosecution recommended three years of community corrections or three years in the department of corrections if Gallardo was not accepted into the former.

Svoboda said Gallardo is young but has a significant criminal history, including two cases from Denver County. His Summit County sentencing will run concurrent to that of his Denver cases.

Owens sentenced Gallardo to three years in the department of corrections, with 376 days of credit for time served in jail. The sentence also includes two years of parole and $428.50 in fines and court costs.

Gallardo’s presentence report stated he had worked with a counselor between his arrest and sentencing, Owens said. He told Gallardo he could go to community corrections after becoming parole eligible and encouraged him to continue taking advantage of rehabilitation resources while in the department of corrections.

Owens said he hopes Gallardo learns to avoid trouble in the future.

“Good luck, Mr. Gallardo,” Owens said.

According to previous Summit Daily reporting, an affidavit for Gallardo’s arrest stated he had an argument with a coworker and reportedly pulled a gun on them July 31, 2024. An officer found Gallardo and another man around 7:30 p.m. at a gas station on Highway 9.

The officer pulled their gun and ordered Gallardo to get on the ground, but he did not comply and ran away into a wooded area near the Highlands neighborhood in Breckenridge. Officials issued a lockdown of the neighborhood, which lasted just over two hours.

After the lockdown lifted around 10:40 p.m., police received a report that Gallardo had boarded a bus in Breckenridge headed for the Frisco Transfer Station. They arrested him there just after midnight and found a Smith & Wesson .380 magazine on his person. 

Gallardo claimed he did not have a gun and had pulled the handgun magazine out of his pocket when his argument with a coworker became physical, court documents state.

The affidavit stated police did not find a firearm in their investigation.

The sentencing documents for Gallardo provide a “factual narrative” for the menacing count he pleaded guilty to. It stated Gallardo pointed a firearm at a coworker who had scheduled him for longer hours than Gallardo expected. It stated he fled law enforcement and was at-large for “more than four hours.”