AURORA | Aurora police and officials from a regional, collaborative anti-violence investigative network say they opened 64 new cases last year, confiscating 151 guns and more than 100 pounds of illegal drugs.
The Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network, dubbed “RAVEN,” is a task force led by the Aurora police department made up of detectives, special agents, crime analysts and others from area 16 law-enforcement agencies. The project’s mission is to identify and pursue “violent criminals, gangs and drug traffickers in the Denver metro area,” Aurora police spokesperson Joe Moylan said in a statement.
Last year, the project launched 61 new investigations and pursued 74 ongoing cases from before 2024.
“Those investigations resulted in the arrests of 127 violent offenders who face a variety of felony charges including homicide or attempted homicide, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon by a previous offender and other weapons charges,” Moylan said.
The cases, not detailed, are filed in area district and federal courts.
“The joint efforts of RAVEN are producing data-driven prosecutions that matter to our communities,” U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch said in a statement. “The District of Colorado is proud to work with our local and federal partners to continue these efforts to keep our citizens safe.”
Last year, the investigations and arrests netted 151 guns, including 114 handguns, 34 rifles, 10 explosive devices, and three automatic “machine guns,” Moylan said.
Investigators also confiscated 23 “auto sears.”
“An auto sear is a device that converts a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic weapon,” Moylan said.
In addition to guns, police seized more than 26 pounds of cocaine, 32 pounds of marijuana, 3 pounds of methamphetamine, 28 pounds of powdered fentanyl and 25,500 fentanyl pills, weighing more than 5 pounds.
“Our work with the RAVEN task force highlights the critical role collaboration plays in keeping our communities safe,” Merideth McGrath, Deputy Executive Director of Community Operations for the Colorado Department of Corrections and RAVEN Executive Board Member said in a statement. “By addressing violent crime at its core, we promote accountability while fostering safer, more stable environments for all Coloradans.”
Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm officials say the collaborative police efforts are a boon to national intelligence used to monitor “crime guns.”
“These statistics showcase the power of partnerships in removing dangerous criminals and their networks from our streets,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Brent Beavers said in the statement.
Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said police collaboration nets results that individual agencies by themselves might not see.
“These accomplishments demonstrate the value of agencies pooling resources and expertise to make the greatest impact on public safety through a focus on those individuals and groups causing the most harm in our communities,” Thomas said.
The task force includes Aurora, Denver, Arvada, Thornton and Lakewood police departments and the Arapahoe County, Adams County, Douglas County and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices. The Arapahoe and Denver district attorney’s offices, the Colorado Department of Corrections, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office also are part of the task force.
PLEASE PLEASE as soon as possible, melt down those guns.
and thank you LEO and APD for your work getting these off the street.
Note: Just one day before a tragic shooting rocked a high school in Nashville, Tennessee, Donald Trump disbanded the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Please gethose guns back to their owners.
Considering the tragic shooting in the Nashville, Tennessee, high school, it appears thathe White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was not effectivenough to continue its existence.