Camera image of a person suspected to have broke into the Village Refugee Center in Aurora March 7, according to center officials. PHOTO SUPPLIED TO SENTINEL COLORADO 
Aleja Ospina tries to close a door that was broken during an early morning break in at the Village Exchange Center, March 7, 2020. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado 
Aleja Ospina shows where a door in the basement was open, where instruments and speakers are stored at the Village Exchange Center, after a March 7, 2020 break-in at the VEC. Nothing from the closet seemed to be missing. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado 
A hammer was used to pry open a locked file cabinet drawer during an early morning break-in, March 7, 2020, at the Village Exchange Center. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado 
Rifled papers and documents at the Village Exchange Center in Aurora. Officials there said someone broke in March 6 or early March 7 and stole documents. PHOTO SUPPLIED TO SENTINEL COLORADO 
Rifled papers and documents at the Village Exchange Center in Aurora. Officials there said someone broke in March 6 or early March 7 and stole documents. PHOTO SUPPLIED TO SENTINEL COLORADO 
Surveillance footage shows the alleged thief trying to pry an office door open with a sharp object, during an early morning break-in, March 7, 2020 at the Village Exchange Center. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel Colorado
AURORA | Staff at a north Aurora center for immigrants and refugees say a hammer-wielding person broke into the space early Saturday morning to raid file cabinets and possibly made off with a backpack filled with intake forms and personal information.
Cameras at The Village Exchange Center captured the break-in. Officials there filed a report with the Aurora Police Department.
Amanda Blaurock, executive director of the VEC, said she was shocked by the break-in.
She said Saturday morning staff weren’t sure exactly what the burglar had stolen, but she said the thief ignored expensive audio and lighting equipment to raid file cabinets in offices. VEC staff store files and personal information for refugees and youth as part of their myriad projects, from a food pantry to after-school programs.
Keys were also stolen, Blaurock said.
She said it’s the first instance of theft at the VEC. Sometimes, however, people break in to sleep, she said.
That was the case when Aurora police responded to the VEC at about 6 a.m. Saturday morning. Aurora police spokeswoman Crystal McCoy said police found a sleeping person in the VEC, but that staff did not want to press charges. Blaurock told the Sentinel staff originally thought the sleeping person was responsible for the theft but quickly checked their security cameras to find another person was responsible.
“I’m just nervous about security issues,” she said.
Matthew Longshore, an Aurora police spokesperson, said Monday the “case remains open and the detective will be following up and reviewing surveillance footage to see if the sleeping male actually was involved or not.”
Blaurock doesn’t know why the files were stolen.
But she noted that the VEC had just won recognition from Aurora U.S. Congressman Jason Crow. She questioned whether a higher-profile meant more crime for the refugee and immigrant hub.
“Do you start having more attention? It helps the funding, but it also helps with people who are divisive and are not liking what we do,” she said of the recognition. She added that a rock was once thrown through a building window.
The VEC said it captured a still photo of the burglar and video footage with security cameras provided with a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant. Blaurock said the VEC is applying for more grants to beef-up security and is considering hiring a private firm.
She added that the break-in was a hurdle for a scheduled event with South Sudanese refugees at the VEC tonight.