Colorado Politics

Aurora police confirm Venezuelan TdA gang arrests in NYC

The Aurora Police Department confirmed the arrests of two alleged members of the Venezuelan gang that placed the city in the national spotlight earlier this year.

The New York Police Department, along with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, arrested two members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang on Nov. 27 who were seen in the Aurora security camera video that made national news, according to a press release from APD.

Denyeer Aramillo Meneses, 23, and Edison Pena Angulo, 25, were arrested in the Bronx, New York, during a gang task force operation.

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Both of the men were wanted on an arrest warrant in Arapahoe County after allegedly taking part in an apartment takeover that appeared in the Aug. 18 video. That episode went viral, kickstarting a political firestorm as President-elect Donald Trump campaigned in Aurora on the issue and named his deportation plan “Operation Aurora.”

The video showed five men walking up the stairs at The Edge at Lowry apartments. Four of the men appeared to have guns, including rifles, and the fifth man is holding what appeared to be a cellphone.

The men then opened the apartment door, though the footage did not show them fully entering the unit.

The video came 10 minutes before a fatal shooting outside of the complex.

The Aurora Police Department on Oct. 2 issued six arrest warrants for the suspects in the video. The six suspects included:

  • Naudi Lopez-Fernandez
  • Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco
  • Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta
  • Edilson Yoel Pena-Angulo
  • Danyeer Aramillo-Meneses
  • Adan Jose Ramirez-Sanchez

It remains unconfirmed whether the six suspects are connected to the Venezuelan gang, according to the Aurora Police Department.

As of Wednesday, three of the six people have been arrested. Naudi Lopez-Fernandez, 21, was already in custody at the time of the warrant’s announcement.

Both men from the Bronx arrests are in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in New York, according to the release. Five firearms were also seized during the operation. The firearms are being transferred to Colorado to allow Aurora’s Operation Safe Haven investigators to determine if they are connected to any additional crimes in Aurora and the Denver metro area.

As a result of those investigations by Operations Safe Haven — the task force crafted by APD to investigate the gang activity after the initial video went viral — detectives have developed information that the final three suspects from the video have fled Colorado.

“The arrests last week were the product of nothing other than the dedication of the city of Aurora’s officers and detectives, and our positive working relationships with local, state and federal partners throughout the country,” Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in a news release.

“We will continue our unwavering pursuit of all the remaining suspects in this case, and anyone else who victimizes members of our community, until they are brought to justice.”

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