Colorado apartment to close after multiple arrests, claims of Venezuelan gang takeover

A Colorado apartment complex will close months after it was scrutinized by President-elect Donald Trump and received national attention over claims of it being "taken over" by a Venezuelan gang, city officials announced.

The Edge at Lowry Apartments in Aurora, Colorado is anticipated to close sometime in mid to late February, Ryan S. Luby, a spokesperson for the city of Aurora, confirmed to USA TODAY on Monday in an email. City officials currently are working on a plan with Arapahoe County and community partners to help relocate the tenants living in the 60 affected apartment units, he added.

“The Edge of Lowry Apartments is an epicenter for unmitigated violent crimes and property crimes perpetuated by a criminal element that has exerted control and fear over others residing at this apartment complex,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said in an affidavit regarding the ongoing criminal activity at The Edge at Lowry Apartments.

In August, rumors began swirling of Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang members taking over the apartment complex and forcing tenants to pay them rent money. Aurora police later confirmed that the Venezuelan prison gang was indeed in Aurora and that they made several related arrests, including 10 alleged members in September.

Here is what to know about The Edge of Lowry Apartments' looming closure, and the issues that have plagued the property and its tenants.

City of Aurora officials filed petition for 'emergency closure'

City officials filed a petition in Aurora Municipal Court on Jan 9. seeking an emergency closure order of the remaining buildings at The Edge at Lowry apartment complex near Dallas Street and East 12th Avenue, according to a petition of injunctive relief obtained by USA TODAY.

"Since September 2023, the buildings at the Edge at Lowry Phase 1 Apartment Complex... have been the subject of numerous calls for service, investigations of violent crimes, and quality of life issues," the petition reads. "These include but are not limited to multiple calls and investigations for Aggravated Assault with a Gun and/or Blunt Weapons, Robbery, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft Recovery, Disturbing the Peace and Noise Complaints."

Presiding Judge Shawn Day agreed with the city and later determined that the properties, which are owned by Five Dallas Partners LLC and operated by CBZ Management, "present an imminent threat to public safety and welfare if allowed to remain open," according to Luby. Day then granted an emergency order to allow the city to begin the temporary closure process at The Edge at Lowry Apartments, he said.

Jessica Prosser, Aurora's director of housing and community services, told CBS News that the city plans to have a contracted management company begin evaluating the property next week. The evaluation will include identifying lawful tenants, removing squatters and ensuring resources are available for the displaced, she said

"They'll be going door to door to understand who's living there, what their situation is," according to Prosser, who added how officials will be "evaluating whether financial assistance can be provided depending on that individual family."

What are The Edge at Lowry Apartment's owners saying?

Attorneys for the property owner, CBZ Management, are disputing the city's allegations and have requested a trial to decide the lawsuit filed by the city which requests that all but one building at the complex be declared a criminal nuisance, the Associated Press reported.

The process to close the complex will continue as the lawsuit seemingly plays out in court, Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte said at a news conference on Monday.

CBZ Management has previously claimed it could not provide maintenance to the complex because the Tren de Aragua gang took over the buildings, but the city argued that the company created the problem by not running them adequately, which allowed crime to flourish.

Stan Garnett, a lawyer representing the property owner, said he was not authorized to comment on the order, according to the AP.

USA TODAY contacted Garnett and CBZ Management on Tuesday but did not immediately receive a response.

Nine charged for gang-related home invasion at The Edge at Lowry Apartments

In December, Aurora police announced the detainment of 19 individuals who all allegedly participated in the torturing of two people during a home invasion at The Edge at Lowry Apartments.

The two individuals, a man and woman, were taken "against their will" to an adjoining apartment at Edge at Lowry where they were bounded, pistol-whipped, beaten and "terrorized," Chamberlain said during a news conference. The man suffered a non-life-threatening stab wound during the incident, while the woman had other non-life-threatening injuries, police wrote in an X post.

During the initial detainment of the 19 individuals, Chamberlain said it appeared that the victims and suspects were immigrants from Venezuela and that this was a "gang incident."

On Monday, Aurora police said formal charges have been filed against nine people for the alleged violent kidnapping, according to an X post by the department. The suspects face varying charges including second-degree kidnapping, first-degree assault, aggravated robbery, second-degree burglary, extortion and menacing, police said.

In addition to the announced charges, police also obtained arrest warrants for three additional suspects who are not yet in custody, according to the social media post.

Aurora police chief: 'An incredibly crime-riddled complex'

The recent charges came two months after police said they arrested 10 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua and charged them with various offenses — including first-degree assault, aggravated assault, shootings, a hit-and-run crash, a domestic dispute and other instances of assault.

The multiple arrests, particularly at the Edge at Lowry, led to Chamberlain calling the property an "incredibly crime-riddled complex."

Trump: 'They are taking over the towns'

When viral images of the alleged gang members spread across social media, it elicited a response from Trump. In September, during the presidential debate on ABC News, Trump said, "We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums."

"You see what's happening with towns throughout the United States. You look at Springfield, Ohio. You look at Aurora in Colorado," the incoming president continued. "They are taking over the towns. They're taking over buildings. They're going in violently. These are the people that (Vice President Kamala Harris) and (President Joe Biden) let into our country. And they're destroying our country. They're dangerous. They're at the highest level of criminality."

Trump's comments prompted Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Council Member and Public Safety Chair Danielle Jurinsky to release a statement on Facebook about the Venezaulen gang's presence in the city.

"TdA has not 'taken over' the city," the statement reads. "The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. Again, TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aurora, Colorado apartment to close after claims of gang takeover