Police identify 3 suspects in video of gunmen breaking into Aurora apartment

Detectives have identified three suspects seen in a viral video showing gun-wielding men entering an Aurora apartment. One of them is already in police custody, authorities said Friday.

The six men seen in the security footage — five armed with handguns and one with a rifle — are wanted in connection with a deadly shooting near Dallas Street and 12th Avenue around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 18, Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said at a news conference Friday.

As of Friday, police had no evidence linking any of the men to a specific gang, including Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang active in the metropolitan area, Aurora Police Lt. DJ Tisdale said at the news conference.

“They assaulted someone, they assaulted someone. I don’t care if they’re in a gang or not, I don’t care if they’re documented or not — I want to hold them accountable,” Chamberlain said.

According to Chamberlain, the six armed men entered two apartments in the 1200 block of Dallas Street around 11:20 p.m. on Aug. 18 and threatened the residents with weapons. He said the men were looking for a specific person who they could not find.

Minutes later, the group was involved in a shootout down the street, which left one man dead. According to Chamberlain, he was identified by police as 25-year-old Oswaldo Jose Dabion Araujo.

About 12 hours after the shooting, detectives obtained a search warrant for a neighboring apartment and found a gun hidden in an oven, Tisdale said. That gun is believed to be the weapon seen in the surveillance video.

Aurora police obtained arrest warrants Thursday for 25-year-old Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 20-year-old Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta and 21-year-old Naudi Lopez-Fernandez on investigation of first-degree burglary and battery with a firearm, both felonies, Chamberlain said.

Lopez-Fernandez remained in custody Friday, and Aurora investigators are working with state and federal partners to track down Zambrano-Pacheco and Serpa-Acosta, Chamberlain said. Police are also working with those partners to identify the three remaining men seen in the surveillance video.