AURORA, Colo. — More than a dozen people are in Aurora police custody for questioning about an armed home invasion early Tuesday morning at Edge of Lowry Apartments, the Aurora Police Department said.
The preliminary Aurora police investigation has found that multiple people entered an apartment in the complex just before 2:30 a.m. Two people were inside at the time. The suspects moved the two people to another apartment in the complex where the suspects reportedly threatened and tied them up, Aurora police said.
The suspects eventually released the victims, according to Aurora police, and that's when the victims called 911. When Aurora police arrived, officers detained 14 people for questioning.
The incident involved victims being pistol-whipped, beaten, and one man being stabbed, which Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain categorized as torture. He believes it was a gang-related incident but cannot confirm it was the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.
By Wednesday afternoon, an ICE spokesperson said 16 people — all Venezuelan nationals — had been taken into custody and all were suspected of being members or associates of the Tren de Aragua gang.
“It’s not about their documentation status …It’s about the fact that they are causing crime, they are victimizing people and they are going to be held accountable,” ” Chamberlain said during a press briefing Tuesday.
The man stabbed during the encounter sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Aurora
Colo. AG investigating Aurora apartment owners in Venezuelan gang controversy
The Edge of Lowry apartments has been in the national spotlight this year because of a video that went viral showing armed men entering one of the units in the complex, sparking claims that Venezuelan gang members had "taken over" the Edge of Lowry.
The video was recorded on Aug. 18, roughly 10 minutes before 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo was shot at the complex. He later died from his injuries.
In September, the Aurora Police Department deemed the Edge of Lowry and another apartment complex "criminal nuisances" and threatened closure over safety concerns that reportedly include "crime and deterioration."
The company that owns Edge of Lowry — CBZ Management —claimed gang members prevented the company from making repairs at their Aurora properties, saying it was too dangerous for employees to be on site.
However, code enforcement and inspection records dating back to 2020 show numerous violations prior to an influx of Venezuelan immigrants in the Denver metro, including mice infestations, ceiling damage and dozens of unlawful vehicles parked in the parking lot.
Earlier this month, CBZ Management and The City of Aurora agreed to close the complex for safety reasons and repairs.
Exact details — including when the 60-unit complex will be closed and what happens to the people living in its five buildings — remain unclear. City attorneys and the lawyer for the apartment owner will be in court again in mid-January.
Though the timeline is uncertain, the apartments’ closure is unlikely before mid-February at the earliest. Peter Schulte, Aurora’s city attorney, told The Denver Post after the hearing that residents would be given at least 30 days’ notice before the building is closed.
