Aurora police have identified the Tren de Aragua gangsters arrested in connection to their reported violent takeover of several apartment complexes in the city.
The Aurora Police department had previously denied that the criminal group from Venezuela was operating in properties in the Denver suburb, even after shocking security footage showed armed men breaking into the units of one complex.
Many of the arrests stem from violent activity at the properties, particularly the Whispering Pines apartments, whose landlord has claimed the gang overtook the property late last year and began charging rent from tenants.
Some of the arrests stem as far back as late 2023, when, according to the propertys managers, the gang established a stranglehold on the property, engaging in assaults, threats of murder, extortion and even child prostitution.
Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose was arrested in August 5 and is accused of assault at the complex last November.
Aurora police have identified 10 Tren de Aragua gangsters arrested in connection to their violent takeover of several apartment complexes in the city
A firm hired by the owners of the complex had previously said that in November, a consultant was so allegedly severely beaten and stomped by gang members that he had to go to the hospital. Its not clear if this is the same assault that Medina-Jose is accused of.
Meanwhile Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana was arrested on March 17 after a reported domestic dispute with a weapon, Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia was arrested on February 4 over a hit-and-run crash at the complex and Larry Medina was arrested on July 10 in connection with felony menacing.
They are all documented members of Tren de Aragua.
TdA member Jhonardy Pacheco-Chirinos was arrested after an alleged assault in November 2023 at Fitzsimons Place apartments at 1568 Nome St. He is also suspected of being involved in a nonfatal shooting at the property on July 28.
His brother Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos, a fellow TdA member, is also accused in the July 28 shooting at the property.
Many of the arrests stem from violent activity at the properties, particularly the Whispering Pines apartments, whose landlord has claimed the gang overtook the property and began charging rent from tenants
Some of the TdA members are accused of crimes at the Fitzsimons Place apartments at 1568 Nome St
Some of the TdA members were arrested for crimes that appear unrelated to the overtaken properties.
Carlos Aranguren-Mayora is accused of 38 crimes all over the Denver area, dating back to December 2023.
Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez was arrested in April and accused of assaulting someone over unpaid rent money. He is also a suspect in a nonfatal shooting on June 28.
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, the police department said in a statement.
To date, APD has now linked 10 people to TdA and has arrested eight of those people. 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.
Footage from a resident in the Aurora complex appeared to show armed men knocking on an apartment door, intensifying fears the Tren de Aragua gang was in control of the complex
Aurora officials, however, added that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or large portions of it.
TdA has not "taken over" the city. The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true, their statement said.
It comes after a bombshell report emerged detailing the Venezuelan gangs takeover of the Whispering Pines.
The law firm Perkins Coie was hired by the lender for Whispering Pines Apartments, 1357 Helena Street, to investigate the reported takeover and claims the gang has been extorting rents from people they moved into vacant units.
The vacant units have reportedly been used to host parties where the gang provides drug and child prostitution, according to the apartments manager, who added that minors are a good source of money.
The report, issued in August, says that Tren de Aragua has threatened to kill (and, in certain instances, has apparently actively attempted to kill) members of Whispering Pines management.
The gangs activities reported escalated this year, with a housekeeper claiming in April 2024 that a two individuals went into an apartment, came out with large firearms, and were coming to kill [the property manager].
In a visit to the Edge Lory apartments, where the armed men were filmed, interim Aurora police chief Heather Morris said gang members had not taken over and werent collecting rent
Aurora police are seen at the complex. They say that claims that the building has being taken by a gang are false
The property manager said the two individuals were gang members and arrested as they were coming to kill him.
The manager also claimed gang members allegedly stabbed a Whispering Pines resident for refusing to pay "rent" to the gang.
He told the law firm that in June the gangsters offered to help him if he paid them 50 percent of the funds collected in rents.
A housekeeper reported that a gang member told her: This is our business plan... If he [property manager] doesnt like it, well fill him with bullets.
Former US attorney T. Markus Funk wrote: The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are engaging in flagrant trespass violations, assaults and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful firearms possession, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations.
Aurora police had claimed the gang has not taken over any buildings, and city officials indicate the buildings, along with two other apartment complexes, were run down because of neglect by the property manager, CBZ Management.
In a visit to the Edge Lory apartments, where the armed men were filmed, interim Aurora police chief Heather Morris said gang members had not taken over and weren’t collecting rent. The remarks came after Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said that criminal elements had taken over some unspecified buildings and were extorting residents.
Aurora Police agent Matthew Longshore reiterated Thursday in an email to The Associated Press that the agency has confirmed residents are not paying rent to gang members, but they found apartment managers are no longer sending representatives to the complex.