By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
More than a dozen persons were arrested overnight related to an armed home invasion in the 1200 block of Dallas St. in Aurora.
“This is without question a gang incident,” said Police Chief Todd Chamberlain. “It could be [Tren de Aragua], it could be [a gang] other than TdA. This is gang activity and there are Venezuelans involved.”
At about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, Aurora police responded to The Edge at Lowry Apartments related to the home invasion which began about six hours earlier with an estimated “13-15 armed individuals” holding two victims who were “bound, pistol-whipped, beat, victimized and terrorized,” Chamberlain said.
One victim was stabbed and both were kidnapped, being relocated from one place in the apartment complex to another, he said. The victims remain in a local hospital where they are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Chamberlain added during a news conference.
Police were notified of the home invasion only after the victims were released by their captors around 2 a.m., after agreeing not to notify police. Chamberlain called their action brave.
“As everyone knows, and as the nation knows, this is an incredibly troubled complex,” Chamberlain said, adding concern toward the violence in Aurora aimed at Venezuelan illegal alliens. “They victimize their own race and own ethnicity. They know they can do things to them that they can’t do to anyone else in the community.”
Aurora police are utilizing “any resource” who might help to identify the individuals involved in the home invasion, Chamberlain said, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).
“We have hundreds and hundreds of apartment complexes in the city. This is one that is problematic,” Chamberlain said. “We are not going to tolerate it. We are going to address it.”
He relayed a discussion with an unnamed White House staffer that would be of concern to residents of Aurora concerned with TdA gang infiltration into the city.
“Once these individuals get across the border, that’s really all we care about,” he recalled the individual saying. “We are in the process of trying to pick up the pieces of an incredibly bad process that was taking place,” Chamberlain added.
The process included the resettlement of illegal aliens into Aurora.
“We’re not talking a small population here,” Chamberlain said. “You’re basically talking about a small city that was dropped into a large city. We are not talking about a busload.”
The case remains in the early stages of investigation. More detail will be provided through Aurora police communication channels. Anyone with information that could lead to further arrests or assist investigators in the case should call 303-739-6000.