AURORA | Aurora and area police arrested 16 people, including nine juveniles or former minors, following a yearlong investigation into violent gang activity in the metro area, Aurora police said Tuesday.
“Many of the suspects involved were identified as some of the most prolific violent firearm offenders in the region at the time,” Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement.
The arrests stem from what police said was an exhaustive probe by the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network, dubbed RAVEN, which linked members of two alleged criminal street gangs to at least 16 violent incidents and multiple gun-related offenses, according to Aurora police.
“RAVEN and its local, state and federal partners are committed to reducing violent gun crime in the Denver metro area,” Aurora Police Lt. D.J. Tisdale, who leads the task force, said in a statement. “This case should serve as an example that our dedicated investigators will not stop pursuing those who use firearms to victimize our community.”
The investigation began in June 2024 after firearm evidence from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a federal imaging tool, connected several suspects to gang-related shootings across the metro region. Police say many of those arrested were responsible for a wide range of violent and gun-related crimes.
Lead investigators from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Aurora Police Department working with prosecutors from the Denver District Attorney’s Office to document the organizations’ alleged activities.
Coordinated operations among the area police and district attorney investigators led to the arrests on June 18 and July 8.
All 16 suspects have been charged with a wide range of crimes in a Denver district court.
Adult defendants include Raijon Bass, 22, Quincy Johnson, 20, Troydell Dixon, 20, Denalii Marshall, 19, Cai-reis Curby, 20, Blanca DeLaTorre, 38, and Ramekia Amerson-Bey, 44.
Charges filed against the suspects range from attempted first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, to illegal firearm possession and organized crime violations under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, similar to the federal RICO Act.
RAVEN is a multi-agency task force led by the Aurora Police Department, with partners from local police departments, county sheriff’s offices, state and federal prosecutors, and agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security.
Police did not release the names of the juvenile suspects because of their age.
Thank you.
Hope thathey are sento prison to protect us.
Year long investigation gets ahold of 16 suspects. Not a lot of “bang for the buck”. I suppose RAVEN does other things, too, though. Let’s hope.
Then only seven of them are over 18 and reportable to the public.
I’m just as interested, maybe more so of the other nine. Do you think it’s about time to address this archaic law. The under age criminals are quite different than when this law was passed so very long ago. Some one in government should begin a process to end the madness that is new to our society.
Never thought I would be saying this, but… good job APD.