AURORA | Police have one man in custody, issued arrest warrants for two more suspects, and are searching for three other unidentified men in connection with last month’s viral video showing six armed men storming a northwest Aurora building and entering an apartment.
The surveillance footage was recorded by a resident the night of Aug. 18, seven minutes before police say 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo was killed by gunshot at the same complex, The Edge at Lowry, at Dallas Street and East 12th Avenue. Although the investigation is ongoing, investigators believe the armed men seen in the video are related to the shooting.
One of them, Naudi Lopez-Fernandez, 21, is in custody, and Aurora police are searching for two other suspects, Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, and Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20 — all of whom face charges of first-degree burglary and felony menacing. Police are trying to identify the three remaining armed men in the footage, who like Zambrano-Pachecoalso and Serpa-Acosta remain at large.
Officers found the scoped rifle seen in the video in an apartment unit neighboring the ones caught on camera.
In his first news conference since swearing in on Sept. 9, the Aurora Police Department’s new chief, Todd Chamberlain, said none of the suspects has been linked to a gang or organized crime group.
At least for the time being, that assertion counters claims in late August by Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky and Mayor Mike Coffman that the men are members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, otherwise known as TdA. Although Coffman since has backtracked on those claims, the false narrative that TdA members have overrun whole apartment complexes in Aurora has gone so viral that Donald Trump is using it as an anti-immigration talking point in his presidential campaign.
The new chief didn’t discount the possibility the suspects are TdA members, noting that soured diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Venezuela — and Venezuelan law enforcement’s refusal to share information about criminals or gang members from that country — make gang affiliation difficult for police to prove.
“The one thing that I think is positive with most gang members is that they do like to brag, and they’re very verbose, and I think that after a while you’ll start to see individuals start to identify or self-identity as ‘Yeah, I’m a TdA gang member,’ or ‘Yeah, I’m a whatever-gang-they’re-affiliated with.’ But it is going to be a process. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take time.”
Chamberlain was careful to note that, “We don’t want to misidentify any individual as a gang member.”
He said APD is being methodical at how it proceeds.
“You identify someone as a gang member that stays with them for the rest of their life. That is one (thing) I’m not going to do with this agency,” he said. “We are not going to do a knee-jerk reaction to this. We are going to be methodical, we are going to be precise and we are going to be evidence-based.”
Chamberlain emphasized that the police investigation focuses on the suspects’ alleged criminal behavior, not their immigration status. He made a point of noting that many Venezuelans don’t feel comfortable reporting crimes because they are undocumented.
“We want individuals that are being victimized, we want individuals that are being mistreated to step forward,” Chamberlain said. “We want to help and we will help.”
That said, he promised to use “every tool” and every chance to unify efforts with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies “to ensure that criminals are found and brought to justice.” Still, he noted that “we are not going to over-police the population based on their race or (ethnicity).”
Chamberlain debunked much-publicized comments made by Jurinsky and Coffman this summer suggesting that TdA and Venezuelan migrants more generally have taken over apartment complexes and overrun police:
“We are not by any means overwhelmed by that issue. We are not by any means overtaken by (Venezuelan) gangs, TDA or any other gang.”
The Edge at Lowry, along with two other Aurora apartment complexes — Aspen Grove and Whispering pines — are owned and managed by the same company, CBZ Management and have been the subject of multiple complaints about structural problems, flooding, broken appliances, mold and big and vermin infestation. The city shut down Aspen Grove because of building and safety code violations, forcing hundreds of mostly Venezuelan residents to find new homes.
Chamberlain signed a nuisance complaint Friday for all three properties. In the meantime, city staff said the owner and management company have not been cooperative in repairing the complexes and making them more livable.
You apparently do not know the meaning of the word “debunked”. When a question remains an open question the assertion inherent in the question has not been debunked, it simply has, as yet, been unverified or affirmatively disproven. The police are correct in being cautious and not disseminating unverified information, rumors. Council members would do well to follow that example though as individuals they retain the right of free speech, even reckless speech so long as it does not actively advocate imminent violence to those with the apparent present ability to carry out that violence.
Let’s give Chamberlain credit. He’s identified the people in the infamous video and he stated that he didn’t know their gang affiliation, but he’s working on that. The one thing he did not do was make a rash judgment. He said that the determination will be evidence-based, but by no means are any properties overrun by gangs. I wish we could get that kind of clear thinking from our resident idiot, Danielle Jurinski!
Chief Chamberlain made it clear what the issues are regarding the alleged Venezuelans that a certain council woman turned into a national disgrace for Aurora and all for personal political gain. APD has been doing their jobs well and it appears that will improve even more. Facts are facts no gangs are in CONTROL of apartments they have committed crimes and the Police are acting on those crimes. Results not rants is what the city needs. Good luck Chief go for it .