Colorado law firm report claims Venezuelan gang has "stranglehold" on apartments since 2023

high-rise brown concrete building by Henry Desro is licensed under unsplash.com
​​​​​A Denver law firm, hired to look into an alleged gang takeover of an Aurora apartment building, says they found the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang began taking over the Whispering Pines Apartments in late 2023. Since then, the gang has engaged in violent assaults, threats of murder, extortion, strongarm tactics, and child prostitution as they have exerted a "stranglehold" on the Aurora apartment complex. That's 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 "CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED." The Perkins Coie law firm shared its findings on Aug. 9 with Aurora's top administrators. 

"The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are engaging in flagrant trespass violations, assaults and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful firearms possession, 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 a second associate at the law firm also did not respond to inquiries from CBS News Colorado.

The firm says it represents the 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 interviewed witnesses and reviewed video from the Whispering Pines for its investigation.

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