The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
AURORA. Colo. — Aurora officials on Wednesday admitted they had been arresting people suspected — though not yet confirmed at the time of their apprehensions — of being members of a Venezuelan gang operating in the metro Denver long before the media spotlight on the city.
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The gang’s activities also “significantly affected” apartment complexes in the city, officials acknowledged.
To date, authorities have linked 10 people to the gang and arrested eight, the city said in a news release sent a day after the gang situation in Aurora took center stage at last night’s first presidential debate between Republican Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a joint statement from Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky, the officials maintained that the gang issue was localized and limited to a few areas.
“As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it,” the two officials said in a news release. “TdA has not ‘taken over’ the city.”
“Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months,” they added.
While the city previously acknowledged the presence of gangs at apartment complexes, the statement from Coffman and Jurinsky — who chairs the council’s Public Safety Panel — confirmed what The Denver Gazette has reported over the past several weeks: that the city, in fact, knew about the issue months ago — or at least suspected that the gang was operating at several apartment complexes.
Aurora Police Identifies Known Tren de Aragua Members
The Aurora Police Department has been actively investigating reports that members of a Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, have been living in Aurora and committing acts of violence against members of the migrant… pic.twitter.com/U42ldlOGr7
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) September 11, 2024
“For some time, well before concerns about TdA in Colorado generated national attention, APD had been arresting people for various criminal activities who had suspected, but not necessarily confirmed, TdA connections. To date, APD has now linked 10 people to TdA and has arrested eight of those people,” the officials said in the statement that the city manager and Aurora Police Department helped put together.
“Two of the eight individuals who were taken into custody were involved in a July shooting at one of the specific properties in the city that have experienced issues with TdA activity. In line with these arrests, we can also now confirm that criminal activity, including TdA issues, had significantly affected those properties,” the officials said.
The Aurora Police Department released the names of all 10 suspects linked to the Venezuelan gang, of whom eight had been arrested over the past year.
The police listed all 10 as “documented members” of the gang.
The information that the police released on Wednesday offered a comprehensive look into the gang’s activities — or at least what they had been accused of perpetuating — in metro Denver. The police sought the suspects for a string of alleged crimes that included shootings, a beating, and threats to kill.
One alleged gang member faced numerous charges — notably kidnapping and robbery — for crimes that went back to December of last year. One shooting happened outside of a probation office.
The new information also stood in stark contrast to previous statements from city and police, who initially dismissed claims that the gang’s presence created an atmosphere of fear that precluded a property management company from caring for the apartment complexes.
Last month, for example, Aurora officials released a video insisting that gang members have “not taken” over another apartment complex called The Edge at Lowry, part of a campaign by the city to push back against some reports by national media outlets saying an organized Venezuelan crime group has “overrun” the Colorado municipality.
In one of the video clips, interim Aurora police chief Heather Morris sought to reassure the public that things are under control, as two police officers stood behind her, talking with someone at the entrance of one of the units.
“We’re making sure that people aren’t paying rent to gang leaders or gang members … that that’s not happening,” Morris said. “And we’ve discovered today and yesterday talking to so many residents that that’s not the case.”
The police department made the video at The Edge at Lowry — not at the Whispering Pines.
Other officials, notably U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, insisted that gang activity in Aurora has been “exaggerated.”
“Those exaggerating and distorting the Aurora gang issue need to stop. Their misrepresentations are not based on reality,” Crow said on X. “I’ve met and spoken with federal law enforcement and local leaders: the gang issues are being grossly exaggerated and misrepresented. Current gang activity is consistent with trends across Colorado, and law enforcement is dealing with it. In fact, violent crime is going down in the metro area.”
Aspen Grove
Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, 22, and his older brother, Jhonnarty DeJesus Pacheco-Chirinos, 24, were part of a group of several men who allegedly terrorized residents of the The Aspen Grove apartments at 1568 Nome St., Aurora, with automatic weapons, according to details compiled from police-written arrest affidavits.
Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos was arrested after a shooting at the apartment complex in July on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree aggravated assault, among other charges.
The brother, Jhonardy Jose Pacheco-Chirinos, was arrested on March 28 by Aurora police on a first-degree assault warrant out of Adams District Court, tying back to an assault at an apartment in November 2023. He was also arrested in connection to the July shooting.
The Aspen Grove apartment complex in which the crimes allegedly took place made national and international headlines when Aurora officials shuttered it and evicted roughly 300 people, citing health and safety hazards.
The landlord blamed the deteriorating conditions at Aspen Grove on gang activity — an allegation that city officials dismissed, and later walked back, insisting that the gangs were a problem but a limited one.
The Whispering Pines
Other arrests occurred at the Whispering Pines Condominiums complex also in Aurora. The complex is also owned by the landlord of Aspen Grove, CBZ Management.
Police arrested 33-year-old Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose at the complex on Aug. 5 in connection to an assault at the complex in November 2023.
Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana, 27, was also arrested at the complex on March 17 following an alleged domestic dispute involving a weapon.
Larry Medina, 28, was arrested on July 10 for a felony menacing incident at on July 2.
Medina pointed a gun and threatened to kill someone, police said.
Aurora police contacted Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia, 27, about a hit-and-run at the complex on Feb. 4. Though police have not had any contacts with the man since, they noted that he is an affiliate with the gang.
Recently, a law firm said that, through violence and intimidation, the Venezuelan gang took over the Whispering Pines complex and sought to collect up to half of the rent from leaseholders, drying up collections for the landlord.
The other four suspects were arrested or contacted elsewhere in the city.
Luis Miguel Calzadilla-Rojas, 32, was arrested on Jan. 3 in connection to the shooting that occurred outside of the Arapahoe County Probation Office earlier that day.
Carlos Aranguren-Mayora, 23, has had “numerous encounters” with Aurora police, the department said. He faces 38 charges in five active court cases throughout Adams, Arapahoe and Boulder district courts for crimes dating to December 2023.
Some of these charges include kidnapping, burglary, motor vehicle theft and robbery.
Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez, 23, was arrested on April 17 in connection to an April 4 assault over rent money that occurred in the 1600 block of Lima Street, police said. He is also a suspect in the shooting that occurred on June 28 in the 400 block of Nile Street.
Finally, 30-year-old Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez was arrested on May 22 on a warrant Jefferson District Court for aggravated assault, menacing and motor vehicle theft.
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