Aurora police have identified the Tren de Aragua gangsters arrested in connection with their alleged violent takeover of several apartment complexes in the city.
The Aurora Police Department had previously denied that the Venezuelan criminal group was operating at properties in the Denver suburb, even after shocking security footage showed gunmen breaking into units at one complex.
Many of the arrests stem from violent activity at the properties, particularly the Whispering Pines Apartments, whose owner claimed the gang took possession of the property late last year and began charging “rent” to tenants.
Some of the arrests date back to late 2023, when, according to property managers, the gang established a “dominance” on the property, engaging in assaults, threats of murder, extortion and even child prostitution.
Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose was arrested on August 5 and is charged with assault at the complex last November.
Aurora police have identified the Tren de Aragua gang members arrested in connection with their alleged violent takeover of several apartment complexes in the city.
Many of the arrests stem from violent activity at the properties, particularly the Whispering Pines Apartments, whose owner claimed the gang took over the property late last year and began charging “rent” to tenants.
A company hired by the complex’s owners had previously said that in November a consultant was allegedly beaten and stomped by gang members so badly that he had to be hospitalized. It is unclear whether this is the same assault Medina Jose is accused of.
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Mejia España was arrested on March 17 after an alleged domestic dispute involving a gun, Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia was arrested on February 4 for a hit-and-run accident at the complex and Larry Medina was arrested on July 10 in connection with a felony menacing charge.
All of them are documented members of the Aragua Train.
TdA member Jhonardy Pacheco-Chirinos was arrested after an alleged assault in November 2023 at the Fitzsimons Place Apartments at 1568 Nome St. He is also suspected of being involved in a non-fatal shooting at the property on July 28.
His brother Jhonnarty Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos, a fellow TdA member, is also charged 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 owner claimed the gang took over the property and began charging “rent” to 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 to be unrelated to the occupied properties.
Carlos Aranguren-Mayora is charged with 38 crimes throughout the Denver area, dating back to December 2023.
Roiberth Daniel Mora-Marquez was arrested in April and charged with assaulting someone over unpaid rent. He is also suspected of a non-fatal shooting that occurred on June 28.
“For some time, long before concerns about TdA in Colorado generated national attention, APD had been arresting individuals for various criminal activities that had suspected, but not necessarily confirmed, connections to TdA,” the police department said in a statement.
‘To date, APD has linked 10 people to TdA and has arrested eight of them. Two of the eight people who were arrested were involved in a shooting in July at one of the city’s specific properties that have experienced issues with TdA activity.
‘In line with these arrests, we can now also confirm that criminal activity, including TdA-related issues, had significantly impacted those properties.’
Footage from a resident of the Aurora complex appeared to show gunmen knocking on the door of an apartment, heightening fears that the Tren de Aragua gang was in control of the complex.
However, Aurora officials added that “the issues experienced at a few select properties do not apply to the city as a whole or to large parts of it.”
“TdA has not ‘taken over’ the city. The exaggerated claims that have been spread through social media and some media outlets are simply not true,” the statement said.
This comes after an explosive report emerged detailing a Venezuelan gang’s takeover of Whispering Pines.
The Perkins Coie law firm was hired by the lender of Whispering Pines Apartments, 1357 Helena Street, to investigate the alleged takeover and claims the gang has been extorting “rents” from people who moved into vacant units.
According to the apartment manager, the empty units were used to hold “parties” where the gang offered “drugs and child prostitution,” adding that “minors are a good source of money.”
The report, released in August, says that “Tren de Aragua has threatened to kill (and, in certain cases, has apparently actively attempted to kill) members of Whispering Pines management.”
The gang’s activities intensified this year, with a housekeeper claiming in April 2024 that two individuals “went into an apartment, came out with large firearms and came to kill (the property manager).”
On a visit to the Edge Lory Apartments, where the gunmen were filmed, interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said the gang members had not taken control and were not collecting rent.
Aurora police are at the complex and say claims that a gang has taken over the building are false.
The property manager said the two men were gang members and were arrested as they were about to kill him.
The manager also claimed that “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 mobsters 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 (the property manager) doesn’t like it, we’ll fill him with bullets.”
Former U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk wrote: “The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are involved in flagrant violations of private property, assault and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, illegal possession of firearms, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations.”
Aurora police said the gang had not taken over any buildings, and city officials said the buildings, along with two other apartment complexes, were in disrepair due to negligence by the property manager, CBZ Management.
On a visit to the Edge Lory Apartments, where the gunmen were filmed, interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris said gang members had not taken control and were not collecting rent. The comments came after Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said “criminal elements” had taken over some unspecified buildings and were extorting residents.
Aurora Police Officer Matthew Longshore reiterated in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that the agency has confirmed residents are not paying rent to gang members, but has found that apartment managers are no longer sending representatives to the complex.
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