Immigrants from Venezuela remain at the center of persistent controversy in Aurora, with four city lawmakers on Thursday offering commentary and narratives about gang members, flash-mobs and national immigration policy.
City officials notified residents that they must vacate their condemned apartments in the north-Aurora complex by next Tuesday, a moved that some city lawmakers, without evidence or details, say is the result of Venezuelan gang activity.
Lawmakers commented on other recent Venezuelan immigrant controversies as well.
Members of the Aurora City Council public safety committee and Mayor Mike Coffman broke into an impromptu discussion about recent issues connected to immigrants and refugees from Venezuela living in Aurora and Denver.
On July 28, as many as 4,000 cars descended on the parking lots at the Gardens on Havana shopping center in west-central Aurora, apparently to celebrate what at the time looked like the political demise of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro has since held on to power, despite international demands he step down after an apparent electoral loss and election fraud perpetrated by his administration.
Some city council members and witnesses painted the July 28 Aurora event as violent, criminal and destructive.
A storm of social media posts about the flash-mob event prompted police the next day to “fact check” what they said was misinformation.
A few days later, the owner of a northwest Aurora apartment complex and his public-relations agent told the media that Venezuelan gangs had effectively taken over his 99-unit complex.
City officials countered the claim, saying that the complex is slated for closure next week after more than two years of neglect and mismanagement, creating a bevy of public safety and health violations that has left the complex uninhabitable.
“None of us buy that story, that this is based on a code enforcement violation,” Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said at the end of the committee meeting, referring to herself and fellow committee members council members Stepahnie Hancock and Steve Sundberg. “The three of us believe there is a huge gang problem.”
While city officials have provided extensive city and court records documenting hundreds of unsafe living conditions and police calls to the building, police have not publicly said whether Tren de Aragua gang members are active at the complex and responsible for crimes.
Sundberg said he’s convinced that the TDA gang is extensive, and that they have “taken over” multiple apartment complexes in the city.
Coffman distanced himself from the assertions, saying that he was confident TDA gangs were present in the metro area, but that the history of safety violations at the embattled complex was well-established, and that police have not made clear what crimes at the complex were gang-related.
“The problems there go way back,” Coffman said.
He pushed back against claims by Jurinsky and Hancock that the flash-mob event at the Gardens on Havana was a “test” by Venezuelan immigrants in schemes to repeat similar episodes in Aurora.
“It’s a one-off,” Coffman said. He said the mob appeared to be caused by early news about the Maduro election by unruly and unrelated people, not an event planned by any organization or gangs.
“I don’t want to conflate the gang issue with what happened on Havana,” he said.
All city lawmakers, however, said Thursday that U.S. border policies and management are to blame for a flood of undocumented immigrants that have overwhelmed local resources.
Aurora police Deputy Chief Chris Juul said police are certain that immigrants associated with the TDA gang are present in the metro area, but the extent of involvement in local crime is under investigation.
“We’re working diligently on that,” Juul said. An internal police task force has been created to focus on the issue. “We are learning a lot about this community.”
All three city council representatives said they want better communication from police and city administrators with themselves and the public if future incidents arise and on current controversies.
Aspen Grove controversy
The owner of the 99-unit apartment complex at Aspen Grove Apartments at 1568 Nome St. told Sentinel Colorado earlier this week the Aurora Police Department has failed to control what he says is unchecked Venezuelan gang activity at his apartment buildings. The city denies that and points to a property manager facing court action for numerous health and safety code violations at the building dating back to 2019 — before Venezuelan immigrants arrived in Colorado — as the real problem.
All of the residents at Aspen Grove, listed in city records as “1568 Nome” face eviction next week as the city is moving to close down the complex, stating that the complex is uninhabitable. The owner of the complex refers to it as “Aspen Grove,” some city records and online rental sites refer to it as “Fitzsimons Place.”
Aurora provided photos and records to the media yesterday documenting consistent and widespread rat, mice and cockroach infections, piles of garbage, dangerous electrical and plumbing issues among other health and safety problems.
The city has moved to shut down the complex through municipal “nuisance” laws, citing the catalog of documented crimes and upkeep.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE “NUISANCE” ORDER
Underlying the growing dispute is how Denver and Aurora are handling the challenges of a wave of up to 40,000 Venezuelan migrants coming to the region over the past two years. The surge of migrants has overloaded local immigrant resources.
The crisis has become regular fodder in the 2024 General Election, pitting local and national political factions against each other.
On July 28, an Aurora shopping center was overrun with an estimated 4,000 cars as a disorderly flash-mob, lured by social media posts, attracted people focused on the results of the July 28 Venezuelan presidential election.
City officials said Monday, the legal action to shut down Aspen Grove is unrelated to all of that.
The owner spoke to the Sentinel, via telephone, joined by his public relations representative, asking not to be named, citing a fear of violence and threats against him and his family.
The city has identified the property owner in numerous court documents as Nome Partners LLC. Court filings against the property name Zev Baumgarten and Nome Partners LLC, a Denver company.
The owner told the Sentinel that he’s pushed Aurora Police since last September to help remove what he claims are members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua squatting in his buildings and threatening his tenants and employees.
He said tenants described to him gang members breaking into vacant apartments, patrolling with assault rifles, and threatening them to pay rent to the gang members, not the owner.
City officials deny that this is part of the cease issue, but police officials would not say if there is TDA gang activity or members at this complex or others nearby.
A document obtained by the Sentinel from Albuquerque Police warned police in the Denver area that the TDA gang is active and was given a “green light” by gang leaders in Venezuela to shoot local law enforcement officers.
In a statement to the Sentinel on Wednesday, Denver Police said the “Department takes the presence of Tren de Aragua seriously, and protecting the safety of our residents and our officers is always our top priority.
“There are reasons to believe that members of this gang are tied to crimes in the area,” police said. “Confirming gang affiliation is challenging because suspected members of this gang often give false identities during law enforcement contacts and typically do not admit membership to the gang.”
Denver police said, ”In coordination with law enforcement partners, continues actively investigating to learn more about the gang, its members, and any associated criminal activity so we can respond accordingly – just as we do for any gang or criminal organization.”
Aurora police have not responded to the Sentinel regarding the warning.
City officials, however, repeatedly said the issue at Aspen Grove is unrelated to that.
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL PHOTOS, REPORTS AND RECORDS PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF AURORA
Aurora spokesperson Ryan Luby points to a September 2023 order against property managers at the complex to cease overlooking years of documented crime activity or face consequences of a city “nuisance” abatement law.
It’s that measure being imposed next Tuesday. Eviction notices were posted across the complex on Wednesday, and each tenant was notified.
The complex owner, however, says not only has APD failed to respond to the majority of his calls but, due in part to their lack of action, the gang members have fully taken over his properties and that he hasn’t had a presence there for almost six weeks.
“I told them time and time again, if you guys only took this seriously eight months ago, nine months ago, you probably could have stomped it out with relative ease,” he told the Sentinel.
Aurora said the allegations are “diversionary tactics” and fabricated narratives. The years-long history of “substantial, longstanding, unresolved code violations,” and uncontrolled crimes committed among and to residents, began in 2020 according to city records — the year after the owner bought the property.
The issues have included rodent infestations, a lack of heat and electricity, sewage backups, trash pile-ups, water leaks and shattered or missing windows,” city officials said.
Online apartment finding sites list average rent at Aspen Grove for a 2-bedroom, 750-square-foot apartment at about $1,600 a month.
Aurora officials said the owner also has also stopped paying the property’s water bill. The amount of that past due was not immediately available.
The “nuisance” letter sent last September to the complex owner and property manager threatened to close down the apartment building specifically for criminal nuisance, pointing to over 100 calls for service to only one building from October 2022 to September of 2023. These included calls for shots fired, stolen cars, trespassing, disturbing the peace, assault, arson, drugs and loitering.
The owner told the Sentinel that those are problems for the police to address.
“They can’t expect these issues to be resolved by landowners,” he said.
It was unclear Monday night whether there can be a resolution by next week other than closing down the building. Residents will have until the morning of Aug. 13 to vacate their apartments, officials said.
The city acknowledged they do not have shelter for the tenants of the building, and instead say they are working with the state for available resources and the metro area’s nonprofit community.
Reporter Andrew Fraieli contributed to this report.
