Notorious Colorado Tren de Aragua apartment complex ordered to close over ‘imminent threat’ to public safety

The infamous Colorado apartment complex that was taken over by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has been ordered to close.

Judge Shawn Day ruled the property “poses an imminent threat to public safety and welfare” when he issued an emergency order to close the Edge of Lowry complex in Aurora. reports the Denver Post.

City officials had sought the order because they had filed negligence charges against the property owners, Five Dallas Partners.

They described the 60-unit property in court documents as “an epicenter for outright violent and property crime,” citing the alleged kidnapping and torture of two residents by two suspected members of the Venezuelan gang.

The order would now force residents of the complex to move, but authorities said they are working with “Arapahoe County and other community partners” to provide relocation assistance.

However, it remains unclear how many people live in the complex, with city leaders claiming that their dealings with similar properties indicate that each unit could house between two and 12 people.

The city is now working to hire a third-party company that will manage the closure process, including going door-to-door to determine how many residents need to be relocated.

Authorities now want to close the complex by mid-February, city attorney Pete Schulte said Monday after a court hearing.

Lawyers for the owners of the Edge of Lowry, meanwhile, filed a motion late Monday to withdraw from the case citing criminal negligence.

“This is stall, stall, stall,” city attorney Pete Schulte argued, according to the Denver Post.

‘We see that again and again with this group.’

Attorney Bud Slatkin, an attorney representing the owners of Edge of Lowry, objected.

“It is not our intention to wait,” he argued, appearing virtually in court.

“We are in the business of protecting these residents and being good citizens of the City of Aurora.”

Five Dallas Partners and co-owners CBZ Management have not yet filed a petition to reconsider the emergency closure and have not paid the $98 court costs to move forward with a jury trial in the criminal negligence case.

But Slotkin said he would pay it by the end of the day Monday.

The problems at the Edge of Lowry complex first came to light in August when doorbell camera footage shared by residents – who are themselves migrants – showed several armed men running towards a unit and threatening residents.

As reporting from DailyMail.com shows, the gang had control of the property by seizing vacant apartments and illegally renting them to other migrants.

The empty units were also used as drug and prostitution dens, where subjects paid money for sex with women and, most gruesomely, children.

They also threatened apartment office staff who tried to establish order and evict gang members from empty units, beating one man to a bloody pulp.

Last month, Tren de Aragua members assaulted a couple at the complex, with Police Chief Todd Chamberlain claiming a man and woman living at the complex were being held against their will and “tortured” by 13 to 15 armed men.

“Victims were held against their will, they were essentially tied up, both the man and the woman,” the chief explained.

“They were pistol-whipped, they were beaten, they were terrorized. The fact that one person can treat another person this way is terrible.’

While the pair were being held hostage, the attackers went to the unit where the victims live and stole items from them.

Ultimately, the gangsters released the victims, who reported to 911 what happened to them just before 2 a.m.

The top cop says he cannot be sure the attackers are TdA members, but several local officers have dismissed that “laughable” claim to DailyMail.com.

“That can only be them,” a local officer told DailyMail.com. “They run Edge or Lowry.”

They added that even Aurora police officers are instructed not to respond to the properties alone and must have backup, usually several other officers, for TdA to be considered that dangerous.

Nine people have since been charged with kidnapping, assault and robbery in connection with the incident, and seven people remain under investigation in their connection.

Chamberlain on Monday continued to blame the apartment’s management for the incident, claiming they had failed to address problems at the complex.

“The problem is a poorly managed location that allowed this crime to flourish,” he argued.

The owners have also previously argued in court documents that they were unable to retain a management team for the apartment complex because of rampant criminal activity.

But they claimed the problems were caused by “intentional, reckless or negligent acts of the city and its agencies.”

A hearing in the negligence case is now scheduled for March.