By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-23 19:37:17 | Updated at 2024-12-24 01:42:19
6 hours ago
A member of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua dressed as a woman in a failed attempt to slip past cops after a brutal kidnapping he's charged in taking part in, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20, a known TdA member living in Aurora, Colorado, wore a wig and a lady's knit hat, hoping police would believe he was a she and not detain him last week.
Officers from the Aurora Police Department descended on the Edge of Lowry Apartments early Tuesday morning after a Venezuelan couple called 911 and accused the mobsters who run the property of taking them hostage - tying them up, beating and torturing them for hours.
As officers swept the building, taking TdA members and their associates into custody, Serpa-Acosta emerged with hands up and presented himself as a woman, images shared with DailyMail.com show.
'He actually came out in disguise. He had a female's wig on and female's hat and I think that's probably a big reason why he was not apprehended earlier,' Police Chief Todd Chamberlin explained.
'Whether he did that all the time or he did that just that day, I can't make that determination.'
Serpa-Acosta had been wanted by the department since August when a video that went viral across the nation emerged, showing him and other TdA members carrying guns and storming a unit at the suburban Denver complex.
Investigators knew the cross-dresser's name and identity, but had not been able to find him after the August incident until last week.
Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20, a known TdA member, presents himself to police with hands up and dressed as a woman. Officers encountered Serpa-Acosta on Dec. 16 after he took part in a vicious the kidnapping and torture of a Venezuelan couple
For months, authorities have had an active warrant for his arrest related to the August armed takeover at the same Aurora apartment complex.
'It is something, I think, to say how about how organized or how much these people want to avoid apprehension and how low-key they remain,' the top cop added.
On Aug. 18, six armed men, five with handguns and one carrying a rifle, knocked on the doors of two units at the Edge of Lowry.
They forcing their way in and extorting the people who lived inside-- fellow migrants.
About 10 minutes later, there was a shooting that local police responded to.
The footage of the armed home invasions went viral and made the Venezuelan criminal organization of household name in the US.
With his capture Aurora police have now arrested four of those six suspects from the August takeover, the department confirmed Monday.
Niefred Jose Serpa-Acosta, 20, a known TdA member, dressed as a woman on Dec. 16. He had been wanted by the Aurora Police Department since August for taking part in an armed takeover at the Edge of Lowry apartments that went viral
The Edge at Lowry apartments was the second property taken over by the South American gang
They also appear to be cramming people into one-bedroom apartments, she added. At a different property, a maintenance worker said they believe TdA members are living there because he has seen Venezuelans walking around shamelessly showing off well-known Tren de Aragua tattoos
DailyMail.com was the first news organization to report TdA had crossed over the border into the US in October 2023.
Hidden among their fellow countrymen seeking asylum in the US, the South American prison gang has been able to infiltrate the country.
They're in 18 states and have been blamed for a wave of crime in America's cities-- blamed beating police officers rapes, murders and child prostitution.
In Aurora, the gang was able to seize control of at least three apartments, charging migrants too afraid to report them to the cops for rent.
The thugs beat and threatened apartment staffers who stood up to them.
They also turned empty units into crime dens-- luring drug users there to get their fix and then offering women and children they could pay to have sex with.
Serpa-Acosta has also been charged in the kidnapping from last week, police announced Friday.
In all, eight TdA members are charged for in the torture case.
Eight additional migrants are still being investigated to determine their involvement, if any at all.
Police are also seeking three others who are not in custody in last week's case.
