Police in Aurora, Colorado, have charged three suspects in a case that went viral after a video showed heavily armed men breaking into an apartment and helped make the Denver suburb synonymous with rampant immigrant crime.
A federal law enforcement source told The Washington Post that one of the men admitted to being a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, though local police say none of the men have ties to that gang.
Niefred Serpa Acosta, 20, confessed during an interview with immigration officials after being asked if he had gang ties and has a Tren de Aragua trademark crown tattoo as proof, sources said.
Sources say the three men have lengthy criminal histories in Colorado.
Shocking security footage taken at a Colorado apartment in late August shows a group of men from a deadly Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, brandishing guns as they enter the apartment.
Ten minutes later, they were allegedly involved in a shooting that left one person dead. According to CBS DenVUh huh?.
The other two suspects, Anderson Zambrano Pacheco, 25, and Naudi Lopez Fernandez, 21, both of whom sources said crossed the border illegally last year and were quickly released into the United States.
The two men have also been arrested multiple times in Colorado, but there is no evidence they are gang members.
Acosta has been arrested at least three times in Colorado over the past two years, according to sources.
According to sources, he was first arrested on a theft charge in June 2023, then arrested on a theft charge in April 2024, and then again in May on charges of theft, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.
It's unclear why he was fired each time.
Sources said Acosta initially entered the country illegally by crossing the border in El Paso, Texas, in December 2022, then left the country of his own accord and returned to Mexico.
It is unclear when he re-entered the U.S.
Acosta is currently in ICE custody and is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on Wednesday.
The three other people seen in the video have yet to be identified and are believed to be on the run.
Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain recently told reporters that he has not found any gang ties among the suspects, but he stressed that it is difficult to tell who is and who is not part of Tren de Aragua.
“Many of these individuals that we're talking to are coming from countries that don't have strong ties to the United States, they don't have databases that they can share,” he said.
The city of 400,000 has seen an influx of immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, from the neighboring sanctuary city of Denver, and gang members have arrived with them.
Last month, the city launched a special task force to combat Tren de Aragua.
Former Denver ICE Director John Fabbricatore told The Washington Post he takes issue with Colorado's sanctuary laws, which limit local law enforcement communication with ICE.
“We are receiving increasing information that Tren de Aragua is expanding its presence in Aurora and throughout Colorado, and because of their sanctuary jurisdiction, local police are missing out on important intelligence gathering and deception work done by Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” said Fabricatore, who is running for Congress to represent Colorado.
“Conservation jurisdictions support TdA and they know they are allowed to do more in Colorado than other states,” he added.
Neither the Aurora Police Department nor ICE responded to requests for comment.
