Aurora police identify 3 more suspects in viral apartment video

DENVER ( KDVR ) — Aurora police are continuing to investigate the people seen in a viral video taken on Aug. 18 inside The Edge at Lowry apartments and said Wednesday that the agency has identified three additional suspects from the video, with one suspect currently in police custody.

The video, first published by FOX31, shows six men armed with guns entering an apartment. Police said the people seen on video were involved in a shooting that left one person dead weeks after the shooting occurred. Police have identified all six of the men seen in the video.

On Friday, the Aurora Police Department said it has no evidence that the people seen in that video are involved with any gang and specifically noted that the agency cannot link the individuals to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua .

“At this time, we do not have any information that leads us to believe or points to these individuals being involved in any specific gang. As we continue our investigation, if that information comes out, we will explore those leads as we do,” Aurora Police Lt. DJ Tisdale from the Special Operations Division said during the Friday press conference.

At that press conference, police identified three suspects involved in possible violence at The Edge at Lowry: 21-year-old Naudi Lopez-Fernandez, who is in custody, and 25-year-old Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco and 20-year-old Niefred Jose Zerpa-Acosta, who are both wanted by police.

FOX31 reached out to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations and was told by a spokesperson that Lopez-Fernandez and Zerpa-Acosta are both Venezuelan citizens.

Lopez-Fernandez was arrested by ERO Denver after he was released from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 21 and remains in ERO custody; Zerpa-Acosta was released from the Douglas County Jail on May 16 and arrested by ERO on May 17. He was ordered to be removed from the U.S. on May 29, and ERO placed Zerpa-Acosta on an order of supervision on July 17 and released him from custody.

On Wednesday, the agency said it had identified the three remaining suspects from the security camera video but was not releasing the information because the agency was seeking warrants for their arrest. Once the warrants are active, the agency plans to update the information provided on Wednesday.

“This investigation is and has been of great interest to the community and the media,” said Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain in the agency’s Wednesday release. “Although the investigation is ongoing, we want to share what we can with the community to ensure the steady release of factual information as part of our dedication to transparency, public safety and, most importantly, community service.”

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000 if information helps lead to a conviction.

Reports may have caused bystanders, residents danger

On Sept. 11, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman and Council Member Danielle Jurinsky released a joint statement with the “full endorsement of” the city manager and the Aurora Police Department. The pair said that Tren de Aragua has not “taken over” the city, and the gang’s presence is limited to specific properties that the city says it has been addressing.

To date, the Aurora police have not connected any people in the Dallas Street video to the gang. FOX31’s partner, NewsNation, was told by Department of Homeland Security sources that the people seen in the video have ties to the Venezuelan gang.

Todd Chamberlain, the new Aurora chief of police, told FOX31 on Tuesday that he does not believe the apartment buildings were “taken over” by the gangs.

“I’m going to be very blunt; I think that’s a false narrative. There was a lot of issues with the property management company on this. There was a lot of outreach at a city level, not at a police level but at a city level through the city manager’s office and the mayor’s office to try to get some systems in place where these people would actually become property managers,” Chamberlain said.

Dozens of residents have spoken up about the allegations of gang members in the apartment complexes, even holding a press conference on Sept. 4 to try and “set the record straight,” and alleging that the media attention on the violent activity has led to danger against migrant families.

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