Gang-related kidnapping at apartment puts Colorado city back in national immigration debate

(CNN) — The city of Aurora, Colorado, has reentered the national debate on immigration after a married couple was kidnapped by a group of undocumented migrants Monday night in their apartment complex and bound, beaten and pistol-whipped, police say.

Police Chief Todd Chamberlain described the incident at The Edge on Lowry apartments as “without question a gang incident,” and police have said both the perpetrators and victims are Venezuelan immigrants.

Sixteen people have been detained in connection to the case and are in the custody of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, police said.

The investigation is ongoing and so far eight suspects in custody face varying charges, which include second-degree kidnapping, aggravated robbery, first-degree assault, extortion and burglary, Chamberlain said. CNN is working to determine whether they have legal representation. Police are seeking charges against three other suspects still at large.

Several suspects are members of the notorious transnational gang Tren de Aragua, which originated in a Venezuelan prison and has infiltrated US cities, according to Chamberlain. In March, a group of Republican Congress members urged President Joe Biden to take action against the group.

“Without question, in my opinion, this is (Tren de Aragua) activity,” Chamberlain said, noting that investigators are still working with federal authorities to determine what gang affiliations, if any, the group of suspects have.

“Our victims were basically subjected to some incredibly inhumane and harsh and unbelievable treatment,” Chamberlain said.

The victims reported the attack to police and were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, the police chief said.

Renewed immigration controversy

The attack has brought renewed attention to the nondescript row of brick apartment buildings and the city of Aurora, which just months ago became a flashpoint in the national conflict over immigration.

President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly compared the Denver suburb to a “war zone” while on the campaign trail, echoing unsubstantiated rumors that Venezuelan gangs were violently assuming control over parts of the city amid an influx of migrants into the Aurora and Denver areas.

But local officials argue that while organized criminal activity is present in Aurora, the issue has become grossly exaggerated and is limited to a handful of apartment buildings in a city of more than 400,000 residents.

Chamberlain said the apartments at The Edge have become a focus of his police department, which has been “proactively” working to address crime at the property and does “nonstop” patrols in the area.

“It is an incredibly crime-riddled complex … the attention (on it) will not stop until every individual that victimizes somebody else will be held accountable or be removed from that complex.”

But the problem extends beyond that property, he said.

“We have a gang problem in Aurora without question,” Chamberlain said. “We have 25-some gangs like every major city does. We have a number of gang members and it’s not just up in that area. It’s not just in that complex. It’s throughout the entire city of Aurora.”

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman echoed the police chief’s concerns in a statement Wednesday but insisted the city should not be defined by its recent criminal woes.

“Aurora, like every other major city across the country, must tackle crime – especially concentrated pockets of crime – aggressively. But as I have said repeatedly, specific bad actors and problematic properties do not reflect on this city as a whole,” Coffman said.

Local officials also pointed out the longstanding concern that immigrants are disproportionately targeted as victims of crime.

“It’s imperative that our public safety policies prioritize protecting every resident of Aurora, regardless of their immigration status,” Alison Coombs, Aurora City Council member at large said.

How the attack unfolded

Investigators say the victims were targeted because the wife had recorded a video of a fight between two women at the apartment complex in November, Chamberlain said Friday. The video, which was later posted online by a friend, also showed several people in the background who are suspected of being involved in criminal activity, he added.

The friend began receiving threats for sharing the video and fled the state on December 16 out of fear for their safety, police said.

That same night, the couple was unloading groceries from their car in the parking lot of their apartment complex when they were confronted by a group of 15 people who were reportedly armed with handguns and rifles, according to police. Police had previously said the couple was taken from their apartment.

The victims were forced into a vacant apartment in The Edge and “terrorized” as some of the suspects went to the couple’s apartment, ransacked and stole their belongings, the police chief said. The man was stabbed and both were bound and pistol-whipped, he said.

The suspects found the wife’s cell phone and deleted the fight video she had taken, the police chief said.

“These suspects wanted the camera or the cell phone that was used by our victim to take this video. They wanted that video removed, because, again, it showed not only the two females fighting, but it also showed a number of other individuals in and around that apartment complex that were involved in criminal activity,” Chamberlain said.

Just before 2 a.m., the victims pleaded for their release, telling their alleged kidnappers they would not report the attack to the police, Chamberlain said. The pair was released and drove to a friend’s house, where they immediately called the police.

Officers responded to the apartment complex and locked down the property, where they found about 15 people in one apartment, many of whom are suspects in the attack, Chamberlain said.

“Most of them are without question or most likely … undocumented or immigrants to the city of Aurora,” Chamberlain said.

Police searched five apartments and seized handguns, magazines of ammunition, knives, cell phones and bindings consistent with the victims’ story, according to police. Officers also found the victims’ cell phones and jewelry, which had been stolen.

During the attack, some suspects forced the victims to share their banking information, Chamberlain said. For weeks before the kidnapping, suspects had also been visiting the couple and forcing them to hand over hundreds of dollars, he added.

“These suspects were basically extorting or taxing these individuals, and I’m sure they have been doing it to more individuals that live in and around that apartment complex,” Chamberlain said Friday.

Investigators are now trying to determine whether other people in the complex are being extorted for money, he said.

The US Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are assisting in the case. CNN has sought comment from the agencies.

Victims were Venezuelan migrants

The victims of Monday’s attack are Venezuelan migrants, and Chamberlain applauded their “incredible amount of courage” in reporting the crime, despite fears that their immigration status may lead to repercussions against them.

Chamberlain said the suspects likely targeted the victims because they believed they would not report the crime to police.

“These individuals, like many gangs and many individuals involved in this type of activity, they victimize their own race and their own ethnicity,” the police chief said. “The reason they do that is because they are easy victims because they know because of their status they will not come forward to the police.”

Investigating organized criminal activity at the apartment complex is challenging because many of the residents there are immigrants who may be hesitant to speak with investigators, Chamberlain said.

“It is incredibly hard because a lot of those individuals that may or may not be victimized in there feel that they cannot come forward to the police based upon their immigration status,” he said. “The one thing that I want to assure everybody who lives in that apartment complex, everybody in the city of Aurora who is documented or undocumented: We are here to serve you.”

Chamberlain encouraged anyone – regardless of their immigration status – to feel comfortable contacting Aurora police if they have been the victim of a crime.

“There is no place in this country, there is no place in this city where somebody should be victimized or mistreated based upon their documentation status,” he added.

CNN’s Lucy Kafanov and Hanna Park contributed to this report.

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