Man Sentenced For Robbing Mystic Convenience Store: Feds

MYSTIC, CT — A New Britain man was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for a robbery spree in Connecticut and New Hampshire in 2022, according to prosecutors.

Efrain Deleon, 61, was sentenced to 79 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act Robbery last year.

Deleon and two other men were accused of using facsimile BB guns to steal cash, cigarettes, and other items from stores in Mystic, Farmington, East Windsor, Southington, Ellington, Windsor, Wethersfield, Stamford, and Salem, NH.

The trio was accused in the robbery of the Mystic Mobil Gas Station at 168 Bridge St. on March 2, 2022.

Deleon was previously convicted of robbery seven times, prosecutors said.

During the robberies, Efrain Deleon typically interacted directly with the store clerk and took the cash and tobacco products. Gilberto Deleon acted as the “lookout” and Steven Galarza acted as the “getaway” driver. At times, their roles overlapped, according to prosecutors.

Galarza, of Seymour, and Gilberto Deleon, of New Britain, pleaded guilty to related charges. Galarza, who also committed two additional robberies in Connecticut and New York, was sentenced to 78 months in prison last July.

Gilberto Deleon was sentenced to 34 months in prison in December.