Colorado police detain more than 15 people after gang-related kidnapping, torture at Edge of Lowry apartments

Lauren Penington, The Denver Post on Dec 17, 2024

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DENVER — Aurora police detained 15 people early Tuesday morning and expected to take more into custody following a gang-related home invasion and kidnapping at the soon-to-close Edge of Lowry apartments, authorities said.

Officers responded to reports of an armed home invasion at the apartments in the 1200 block of Dallas Street just before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Aurora Police Department.

A man and a woman living together in the building had been accosted by at least 15 armed individuals around 8:45 p.m. Monday, Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said during a Tuesday news briefing.

The two were taken to a vacant unit in a different building of the Aurora apartment complex against their will and bound, pistol-whipped, threatened and tortured for hours overnight, Chamberlain said. The man was stabbed and both victims were later taken to an area hospital, where they remained Tuesday morning.

The 60-unit Edge of Lowry apartment complex, which gained international attention after a video clip of heavily armed men inside one of its five buildings went viral, is set to close in the coming months as part of a deal reached earlier this month between Aurora officials and the apartments’ owners.

The late-night home invasion was “100% gang activity,” Chamberlain said. However, he said, police haven’t been able to confirm whether the suspects are affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which has been known to operate at Edge of Lowry.

Chamberlain said the victims were eventually released by the suspects around 1:50 a.m., at which point they fled to a friend’s house across the city and called 911. Multiple Aurora officers responded to the apartments around 2:30 a.m. and detained 13 men and 2 women for questioning.

All 15 suspects were found inside one apartment unit during an early morning search of the building, Chamberlain said. The apartment complex remained locked down Tuesday as officers submit search warrants and work to identify the suspects.

None of the suspects detained by investigators had been arrested as of Tuesday morning, and Chamberlain said more people from the apartment complex were being detained as officers executed search warrants in four locations connected to the Monday night incident.

No one will be arrested until the department is sure that every individual involved with the home invasion and kidnapping is in custody, Chamberlain said.

At this point, investigators believe that all the people involved — including the victims — are Venezuelan immigrants and most of them are undocumented, Chamberlain said. He said the victims were targeted because they’re undocumented, which makes it harder to trust the police and come forward.

Chamberlain said Aurora investigators are working with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify the suspects and verify their involvement with the crime.

“It’s not about their documentation status,” Chamberlain said. “…It’s about the fact that they are causing crime, they are victimizing people and they are going to be held accountable.”

The expected closure of the Edge of Lowry apartments follows attempts by the buildings’ owners and property managers to blame poor living conditions on Tren de Aragua, which they alleged had taken over the property.

“This complex is an incredibly problematic complex, it is an incredibly crime-riddled complex,” Chamberlain said Tuesday.

Aurora police have acknowledged the gang’s presence at the Edge of Lowry and other apartment buildings, and the closure deal reached in court this month resolves the city’s efforts to have the complex labeled a criminal nuisance and shut down. Both sides are due back in court next month.

During Tuesday’s news conference, Chamberlain blamed the apartment owners’ mismanagement of the complex, lack of oversight and already terrible living conditions for allowing gangs to take root and the neighborhood’s crime rate to worsen.

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