All 6 suspects identified in viral video of Aurora apartment break-in

AURORA, Colo. — All six armed men seen in a viral video breaking into an Aurora apartment unit have been identified, and one of them is in custody, according to Aurora Police.

In September, Aurora Police obtained arrest warrants for Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 25; Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20, and Naudi Lopez-Fernandez, 21. All three face charges of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm, police said.

On Oct. 1, Aurora Police said they had also obtained warrants for Edilson Yoel Pena-Angulo, 25, and Danyeer Aramillo-Meneses, 23, who were also seen in the video. Both are wanted on suspicion of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm.

On Oct. 2, police identified the sixth suspect, Adan Jose Ramirez-Sanchez, 37, on charges of first-degree burglary and menacing with a firearm.

Lopez-Fernandez is the only suspect in custody. Police are searching for the other five.

9NEWS requested copies of the warrants. As of Wednesday morning, only two were available to be released to the public.

The warrants stemmed from menacing that occurred around 11:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Edge at Lowry apartments at East 12th Avenue and Dallas Street. Six armed men, five with handguns and one with a rifle, knocked on the doors of two apartments, entered those apartments and threatened the residents.

According to one of the warrants, police spoke to the residents in those two apartments about the men knocking on their door. 

They told officers the men “pointed guns at them” and they were “scared for their lives”. The residents said the men “did not talk directly to them; only to each other,” and they left shortly after entering the apartment.

The burglary and menacing incident were captured on surveillance video that garnered international attention after being shared with multiple news outlets.

Warrants said a police informant told officers that on the night of Aug. 18, they saw armed men run into apartment #204 after a shooting outside the complex. In that apartment is where APD found a disassembled rifle hiding in an oven. 

According to arrest warrants, that rifle is the same one fired during the Aug. 18 shooting that killed 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo. Police said it is also similar to the one in the viral clip which was captured about 10 minutes before Araujo was shot outside the 12th Avenue and Dallas Street apartments.

As of Wednesday, no one is facing charges connected to the deadly shooting. APD said there may be additional charges once the Major Crime Homicide Unit has completed its investigation into the shooting, which remains active and ongoing.

A spokesperson for APD said there are no known gang affiliations for the six men in the video at this time.

Police and the city have been pushing back on claims that the city has been “taken over” by a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA). Former President Donald Trump and other politicians have repeated those claims.

Tren de Aragua members have been arrested in Aurora for various crimes including shootings, assaults and menacing incidents. The most recent arrest was made on Aug. 5, police said. As of Oct. 2, APD has identified 10 TDA members and made nine arrests. 

Many of the incidents happened at or near the Fitzsimmons Place apartments on Nome Street and the Whispering Pines Condominiums; however, some gang members were arrested for crimes that occurred in Jefferson and Boulder counties.

Anyone with information on the shooting and menacing of Aug. 18 in Aurora can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

This story includes previous reporting by Janet Oravetz.