Colorado law firm report says Venezuelan gang has ‘soul’ in apartments, takeover begins in 2023

A Denver law firm hired to investigate an alleged gang takeover of an Aurora apartment building says it found Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua began taking over the Whispering Pines Apartments in late 2023. Since then, the gang has committed brutal assaults, threats of murder, extortion, strong-arm tactics and child prostitution, exerting “suffocating” control over the Aurora apartment complex, according to a letter sent to Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, Aurora City Manager Jason Batchelor and the interim police chief that was obtained by CBS News Colorado.

Each page of the nine-page report was labeled “REQUEST FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT.” The Perkins Coie law firm shared its findings with Aurora’s top administrators on Aug. 9.

“The evidence we reviewed indicates that gang members engage in egregious property damage, assault and battery, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors, illegal possession of firearms, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations,” wrote T. Markus Funk, a former U.S. attorney.

Funk did not respond to emails and phone calls from CBS News Colorado, and the other partner at the law firm also did not respond to inquiries from CBS News Colorado.

The firm says it represents a lender for Whispering Pines Apartments, 1357 Helena Street, one of several Aurora apartment buildings allegedly controlled by the Tren de Aragua gang. The law firm says it has interviewed witnesses and reviewed video footage from Whispering Pines for its investigation.

In this letter, details and incidents regarding the alleged takeover of the apartments by the gang and its modus operandi were revealed for the first time.

“Tren de Aragua made death threats (and in some cases apparently actively attempted to kill) members of Whispering Pines management…” the report reads.

Investigators interviewed the property manager, who had 15 years of experience in the industry. The property manager said, “I have never seen anything in my career that even comes close to Tren de Aragua taking over Whispering Pines.” Whispering Pines consists of 54 apartments with rents ranging from $1,450 to $2,000 per month. The report says tenants are typically working-class Latino families with children.

The property manager told the law firm he started work in January 2024, but TdA had already established a presence at the apartments before hiring him. In November 2023, a report said a consultant for the property management company was “so severely beaten and knocked around by gang members that he had to go to hospital.” The report said the beating was unprovoked.

“Gang activity in Whispering Pines has escalated in 2024,” according to a document obtained by CBS News Colorado. In April 2024, a cleaning lady called the property manager “to inform him that two individuals from the property had entered the apartment, exited with a large firearm and came to kill him (the property manager).” The individuals were apparently behind on their rent.

The property manager said “two individuals were arrested when they came to kill him.” The report said the men, who were armed with “large firearms,” were gang members.

The property manager went on to say that “gang members allegedly stabbed a Whispering Pines resident for refusing to pay ‘rent’ to the gang. The property has since recorded footage of the gang members knocking on doors and, without permission or any other justification, attempting to collect rent from Whispering Pines tenants…”

In June, the report said suspected gang members approached the property manager and offered to help the manager “if he agreed to pay the gang 50% of anything the property management company collected in rent.”

Investigators who wrote the report called it an “organized crime tactic.” They said the gang members said they would take over vacant units in Whispering Pines and start collecting rent from the tenants. “That’s our business plan,” one gang member told the landlady. “If he (the property manager) doesn’t like it, we’ll put bullets in his face.”

The report states that after the incident, a video was recorded showing TdA gang members brutally breaking into empty apartments, breaking down the doors and moving Venezuelan immigrants inside.

“The brazen and public nature of this conduct further demonstrates that the alleged gang members were comfortable and in control, consistent with taking over the property and not fearing enforcement by property management.” Investigators concluded that the gang members were extorting “rents” from residents they moved into vacant units.

“The property manager added that TdA is currently using the formally empty premises to organize “parties” where it “serves drugs and child prostitution.” The property manager apparently told investigators from the law firm that “minors are a good source of money.”

CBS News Colorado also obtained internal Aurora police documents from June that appear to confirm some of the law firm’s conclusions.

A police officer reported responding to a call from a cleaning lady in Whispering Pines. He said she told police she was “threatened to give up the keys to the empty apartments at Whispering Pine Apartments so a group of Venezuelans could move people into the Whispering Pine Apartments.” The officer reported, “The suspects left, but not before warning her to comply or they would kill her or her family.” An Aurora police officer wrote to his colleagues, “I highly recommend you bring 2-3 friends with you when you respond to the calls.”

Late Wednesday afternoon, a city of Aurora spokesperson confirmed they had received the letter and were “immediately integrating it into our ongoing investigative efforts.” The city spokesperson said Aurora police have and will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute any reported crimes involving or related to the Aurora apartment buildings at the center of the controversy. “The information and allegations contained in the letter underscore why APD (and other law enforcement agencies) have established a special task force to investigate violent crimes affecting migrant and other communities in the Denver metropolitan area,” the city spokesperson wrote.