AURORA | Aurora police say charges have been filed against nine Venezuelan immigrants accused of taking part in an extortion ring at a notorious northwest Aurora apartment and violently kidnapping two residents in December.
The alleged brutal attack on immigrants at The Edge of Lowry complex led to a Dec. 19 raid and roundup of 19 people, prompting immigrant rights groups to question the legality of police working with ICE and immigration agencies.
The complex at East 12th Avenue and Dallas Street has drawn national attention for months after a viral video, gang involvement, crime and negligence from the property management company kept making headlines.
Property owners were slated to be in city court Monday afternoon to answer to a request that the court allow the city to shutter the complex right away because of ongoing crime and dangerous living conditions.
Charged last week in Arapahoe County District Court were:
Andres Alexander Liendo-Padilla, 26, Javier Alexander Alvarado Parada, 24, Jesus Alberto Alejos Escalona, 22, Junior Reyes-Barrios, 28, Barbara Sivle Medina-Arcaya, 29, Donarkys Teresa Suarez-Quesada, 31, Luigi Javier Soto-Sucre, 26, Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20 and Jengrinso Elias Loreto-Petit, 26.
Charges included second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, aggravated robbery, second-degree burglary, extortion and menacing, according to a statement issued by Aurora police.
Police said they have asked for arrest warrants for three additional suspects, not named.
Three people interviewed by police and ICE officials were eventually released, police said. Seven others are in ICE custody, and their names and legal status were not released.
The raid and kidnapping allegations followed a violent attack early on Dec. 17, during which a couple was abducted, bound and tortured in a vacant apartment, according to police.
The attack was part of a broader pattern of criminal activity that included extortion, robbery and intimidation of residents within the complex, police said.
A police investigation revealed that the attack was a violent revenge episode linked to a recent fight and recording among building tenants.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain and ICE officials say the suspects are linked to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang with members in the United States and metro area.
“Without question, it is gang crime,” Chamberlain said, adding that while it’s challenging to identify all suspects as members of a specific gang, in his opinion, they are likely affiliated with TdA.
The December kidnapping is linked to an event Nov. 30, when a resident used a mobile phone to record a fight between two women at the complex and shared the video with her friend, who posted it on social media, police said.
“The friend immediately became threatened by the fact that this videotape was now on the air, which showed these individuals, these two women, fighting in this courtyard area, and that person immediately left and went to another state based upon the intimidation factor of what our victims had to deal with after the video was posted online,” Chamberlain said at a news conference in December.
The video then led to threats by the women and others linked to them against the resident and eventually escalated to the Dec. 17 abduction.
The victim and her husband were ambushed in the courtyard of 1268 Dallas St. and taken to a vacant unit, where they were assaulted, bound and robbed. Their attackers stole jewelry, cell phones and financial information, demanding the deletion of the incriminating video, police said.
“The whole goal of this seemed to be based on the fact that these suspects wanted the camera or the cell phone that was used by our victim to take this video,” Chamberlain said.
He said they wanted the video removed because it showed the women fighting, along with other individuals involved in criminal activity.
Beyond the violence, the suspects were accused of running an extortion scheme, demanding $500 every two weeks from some residents on top of regular rent payments.
“This wasn’t just about these victims,” Chamberlain said. “We are uncovering a broader pattern of extortion affecting multiple residents in the complex.”
The allegation of “rent extortion” isn’t new. Such allegations were made public in July. Former Aurora interim police chief Heather Morris released a police video specifically addressing allegations that gangs were running amok at the complex.
“I’m not saying that there’s not gang members that… live in this community,” Morris said. “But what we’re learning out here is that gang members have not taken over this complex.”
Current police administrators have previously reiterated those sentiments.
Police in December did not make clear how long the extortion ring has been operating, and much of the building has been emptied as city officials continue efforts to close the complex down, citing critical health and safety issues.
Is this about the same case that the Aurora Sentinel and other Democrats said was made up by Danielle Jurinsky? Just wondering.