Aurora PD issues warrants for armed men in viral apartment video, says no evidence of affiliation with criminal gang from Venezuela
Aurora police has obtained arrest warrants for three men involved in the Aug. 18 shooting near 12th Avenue and Dallas Street. The suspects in the Colorado crime appear in doorbell surveillance video that gained national attention last month. The Aurora Police Department says there's currently no evidence showing the suspects are tied to transnational gang Tren de Aragua.
CBS Colorado's Tori Mason spoke to the tenant whose doorbell captured the video . The video shows six armed men knock on apartment doors, unlawfully enter and threaten residents with firearms, according to APD.
About 10 minutes later, APD responded to a report of a shooting in the 1200 block of Dallas Street.
Aurora police submitted warrants to the Arapahoe District Court for Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25, Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20, and Naudi Lopez Fernandez, 21, on charges of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm.
Lopez-Fernandez is in custody. Police are searching for Zambrano-Pacheco and Serpa-Acosta.
Within 12 hours of the shooting, APD says they obtained a search warrant for another neighboring apartment. A rifle matching the one depicted in the video was recovered.
On Friday, Aurora police provided an update on the investigation, a day after Mayor Mike Coffman said he welcomes the opportunity to set the record straight on gang activity during former President Donald Trump's proposed visit to Aurora.
Law enforcement is still working to identify three men in the surveillance video as part of a large-scale, multi-jurisdictional operation known as "Safe Haven."
Police Chief Todd Chamberlain doesn't deny the presence of gangs in Aurora but says the city has not been "taken over by TdA or any other gang."
At this time, APD says none of the six men in the video have been connected to an organized criminal organization.
However, Chamberlain says it's a possibility.
"I think there's always a possibility. Sure," he told reporters. "Again, I don't really like giving out anecdotal information when it's not factual. But again, like I said, what we're dealing with is the unknown here."
He says identifying TdA gang members has been a challenge.
"There's a lot of limitations, a lot of rules, a lot of regulations that relate to identifying someone as a specific gang member or an affiliate of a gang," said Chamberlain. "Many of these individuals we're talking about come from a country which does not have a strong relationship with the United States, comes from a country that does not have a database that they are going to share or have shared."
Chamberlain says APD offered to put officers in place at all the affected apartment complexes, and that public safety is goal of Safe Haven.
APD's timeline of Operation Safe Haven says they first began noticing an increase in crime involving Venezuelans in September 2023.
It also notes July 28th, 2024 - the night of a large gathering related to the Venezuelan election. There were rumors another gathering would take place Aug. 17.
In an open records request submitted by CBS Colorado, the news department found APD scheduled 557 sworn members to work Aug. 17. They currently employ 748. The city spent approximately $218,644 on overtime that day.
Chamberlain says their focus is on criminal behavior, not immigration status. He reiterated that the Aurora Police Department will not discriminate based on immigration status, urging victims to come forward without fear.
While there's no evidence of TdA activity in the video, Chamberlain says crime doesn't discriminate, and neither will enforcement.
"They victimized somebody, they mistreated somebody. I don't care if they're in a gang or not in a gang. I don't care if they're documented or undocumented. I want to hold them accountable," said Chamberlain.
APD says they're also examining the role of property management in these incidents.
"We are looking at the property management. We are looking at the landlords. There's been a number of civil actions that have been placed on the individuals that control those apartment complexes, looking at how all these individuals actually ended up in this location. We want to verify financial means that have been put in place, with property management, with the landholders. There's actually a nuisance complaint that I just signed this morning that is going to go into all these complexes," he added.
APD says investigations into the events of Aug. 18 are active and ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867). Tipsters can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
