The official findings of an officer-involved shooting that occurred on June 1, 2023 in Aurora can be found here. If you have questions or need further assistance accessing this report, please call 720-874-8500 during normal business hours.
This week, an arrest warrant was issued for Alejandro Garcia-Loya, DOB 9-9-87, for a double-homicide case that occurred more than a decade ago in Aurora.
Garcia-Loya is charged with the following offenses:
First-Degree Murder After Deliberation (2 Counts)
On July 16, 2007, officers with the Aurora Police Department were dispatched to a welfare check call at an apartment in the 200 block of S. Jasper Circle. Family of Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada called police to share concerns that they had not heard from Ignacio in several days and that multiple phone calls went unanswered.
A responding officer arrived at the complex and opened an unlocked sliding back door. The officer immediately smelled an odor consistent with a decomposing body. Upon entry, officers found two deceased victims with severe trauma to their heads. Both were pronounced dead on-scene.
The victims were identified as:
Juan Ayala-Medina
Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada
Detectives with the Aurora Police Department searched the apartment and found a utility bill in the name of Alejandro Garcia-Loya, who was not related to either of the victims but resided in the apartment. Detectives also found a social security card with the name “Alejandro Garcia,” but discovered that social security card was fraudulent because the social security number on the card did not match the physical name.
Shortly after the murders, detectives sent several pieces of evidence from the apartment to CBI for examination. A spoon and a Mountain Dew can were collected from Alejandro’s room and later DNA tested. The results show the DNA collected from the items were from a single contributor. Fingerprints were also collected from Alejandro’s bedroom without any successful matches. In that same bedroom, a Walmart receipt was found showing a purchase of the Mountain Dew bottle and a youth baseball bat shortly before the crime took place. The youth baseball bat was not recovered.
Several years later, the Department of Homeland Security Latent Print Unit got a “hit” on the latent prints submitted in 2007. The fingerprints in the DHS system for Alejandro Garcia-Loya matched the five latent prints collected from the homicide scene.
On April 11, 2023, Aurora Police Detective Jason McDonald completed a review of this case and concluded the third roommate who fled to Mexico after killing Ignacio Zamudio-Estrada and Juan Ayala-Medina is Alejandro Garcia-Loya.
“The Aurora Police Department, along with the Major Crime Homicide Unit, is committed to finding justice for our victims and their families. Just because a case goes cold, does not mean it is forgotten,” said Major Crime Homicide Unit Sgt. Chris Cruser. “Our detectives are always looking for new leads, evidence and information to solve cases. This is just one example of their efforts and dedication.”
At this point in time, the defendant has not yet been apprehended. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
“As time passes, cases can become tougher to solve,” Deputy District Attorney Grant Grosgebauer said. “No matter how much time passes, our Cold Case Unit is solely focused on holding offenders accountable and ensuring victims get justice.”
The Office of the 18th Judicial District Attorney has filed formal charges against Douglas Harroun in an officer-involved shooting on December 31, 2022.
The shooting was investigated by the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team and presented to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for a charging decision. Based on our review of the evidence, Harroun was charged with the following offenses:
Assault 1-Serious Bodily Injury with a Deadly Weapon (Class 3 Felony)
Assault 2- Reckless Serious Bodily Injury with a Deadly Weapon (Class 4 Felony)
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office will not be commenting further on an ongoing criminal case except to provide future court dates and bond information.
The arrest affidavit can be requested via the Court Executive for the 18th Judicial District.
Today, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against Eduardo Landeros, 26, in relation to a deadly crash that occurred on the evening of March 4, 2023, on S. Chambers Road.
Colorado State Patrol conducted the crash investigation and turned over its findings to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for a charging decision.
Landeros is charged with the following offenses:
Vehicular Homicide-Reckless Driving (Class 4 felony)
Criminally Negligent Homicide (Class 5 felony)
Questions regarding Landeros’ employment as an officer should be addressed with the Aurora Police Department Public Information Office.
Publicly available court documents can be requested via the 18th Judicial Courts.
As a reminder, all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Future court dates and bond information will be posted accordingly on our DA18 Twitter page.
Today, a jury convicted Francine Ann Martinez of Failure to Intervene, a Class 1 Misdemeanor, for her involvement in an excessive use of force case during a 2021 arrest.
Just after 2 p.m. on July 23, 2021, Officers John Haubert and Francine Martinez were dispatched to a trespassing call in the 3100 block of S. Parker Road. Upon arrival, two people took off running. A third person, identified as Kyle Maurice Vinson, stayed on-scene and officers confirmed he had an active warrant stemming from an unrelated incident.
In the process of arresting Vinson, it is alleged that Officer Haubert used excessive force on Vinson. Vinson was taken to the hospital to be treated for multiple injuries.
“Officers have a duty to intervene in situations like this,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Sugioka said. “Officer Martinez failed to do anything to deescalate the situation and stop the assault.”
Haubert and Martinez are no longer employed with the Aurora Police Department. Martinez will be sentenced June 2.
Haubert faces the following charges:
-Attempted 1st Degree Assault causing Serious Bodily Injury with a Deadly Weapon
-2nd Degree Assault/Strangulation
-Felony Menacing
-Official Oppression
-Official Misconduct
-Violent Crime Sentence Enhancer
Haubert’s trial is scheduled for November 2023. Haubert is presumed innocent and the prosecution bears the burden of proving the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“While the vast majority of police officers uphold the highest standards when interacting with victims and suspects, we are committed to holding officers accountable when they break the law and betray the badge,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “I’m grateful for the jury’s service and for returning a just verdict.”
In 2020, Colorado lawmakers passed a police accountability bill which makes it a crime for officers not to intervene or report use of force incidents.
Here is a review of an officer-involved shooting that occurred on September 24, 2022. A full copy of the findings can be viewed by clicking on the OIS Letter link.
This month, a grand jury indicted six individuals for their alleged roles in running a sophisticated criminal enterprise involving identity theft, forgery, aggravated motor vehicle theft, aggravated robbery and attempted murders.
The following defendants are named in a 54-count indictment filed in an October 7, 2022 indictment:
Kaile Stevens
Keandre Stevens
Omari Davis
Tavarious Robinson
Jadeen Hollumn
Emmazetta Chargingcrow
The preliminary investigation uncovered that this group of friends and family members participated in an identity theft and forgery operation resulting in multiple fraudulent purchases of luxury vehicles that were utilized in the commission of multiple aggravated motor vehicle thefts, aggravated robberies and burglaries.
On August 17, 2021, police responded to a motor vehicle accident involving a Mercedes Benz on S. Buckley and E. Quincy Avenue. Two men, later identified as Jadeen Hollumn and Tavarious Robinson ran away from the accident scene. Officers searched the vehicle and found a rifle, a laser for a firearm and stolen mail that belonged to multiple identity theft victims.
Officers discovered the Mercedes Benz also had a fictitious tag on it and learned the vehicle was registered to one of the ID theft victims.
Thanks to the hard work of an investigator from the Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR), the investigation showed that this criminal enterprise used stolen identities to buy vehicles through fraudulent loans and that the driver’s license information provided to the car dealerships was not a registered license number in their database.
The following vehicles were illegally obtained between 2021 and 2022 using a stolen identity:
June 9, 2021: 2018 Mercedes Benz GLC 32 AMG
December 8, 2021: 2022 Kia Forte
December 9, 2021: 2016 Honda Pilot
December 13, 2021: 2019 Mercedes Benz CLA 250
December 15, 2021: 2018 Audi Q5
December 18, 2021: 2016 Mercedes Benz GLE
December 18, 2021: 2019 Mercedes Benz GLC
December 22, 2021: 2017 BMW X4
December 31, 2021: 2017 Hyundai Elantra
May 31, 2022: 2019 Mazda CX-9
July 14, 2022: 20218 Mercedes Benz
Some of the stolen vehicles listed above were also identified as being used in a series of aggravated robberies at multiple area convenience stores.
The following robberies are believed to be connected with this criminal enterprise:
January 19, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. Mississippi Avenue)
January 20, 2022: 7-Elevent (E. 8th Avenue)
January 20, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. 45th Avenue)
January 26, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. 88th Avenue)
January 26, 2022: Circle K (N. Washington St.)
January 28, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. Mississippi Ave.)
January 28, 2022: 7-Eleven (10000 block of Girard St.)
On February 1, 2022 at approximately 10 a.m., officers were dispatched to a shots fired call at a local apartment complex on E. 13th Place. The vehicle witnesses saw leaving the scene was identified as one of the stolen Mercedes Benz’. Fortunately, no one was injured in this shooting.
Two hours later at the same complex, Aurora police officers were dispatched to a second shooting call. This time, one person was injured.
A day after these shootings occurred, officers executed a search warrant at an apartment where two of the defendants, Kaile Stevens and her son Keandre were living.
Officers searched the apartment and found numerous evidence including:
-Car keys to stolen vehicles
-A distinctive sweatshirt and two hoodies which were seen at many of the aggravated robberies
-Personal information from ID theft victims
“These conspirators stole social security cards, credit cards and ID’s, which we believe were then given to Kalie Stevens to further her complex fraud operation and gain money for her family and their friends,” Chief Deputy DA Darcy Kofol said. “Kaile Stevens, the matriarch of this group, ran a scheme that allowed her, her children and their friends to use these high end luxury vehicles for free and then committed multiple aggravated robberies and shootings.”
This case was solved due to the hard work of our partner agencies, including the FBI, Aurora Police Department and Colorado Department of Revenue.
“This criminal operation terrorized convenience store clerks throughout my district and destroyed the credit and lives of hard-working citizens who had their identities stolen,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “I commend the investigators who spent countless hours to shut this operation down and we look forward to the day we can present this case in court.”
As of Wednesday morning, Emmazetta Chargingcrow is the only defendant currently out on bond pending trial.
“These indictments exemplify why partnerships are so important to the FBI Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, whose mission is to identify and target individuals and criminal enterprise groups engaged in violent crimes. Here we have a criminal organization of family members operating in numerous counties in Colorado and other states. This scheme began with identity theft and forgery and escalated to car thefts and armed robberies,” said FBI Denver Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor. “The collaboration, expertise, and relationships of our local, state and federal partners enabled us to put a stop to this violent organization and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
NOTE: All defendants arrested and charged are considered innocent until proven guilty. A copy of the grand jury indictment (2022CR1) can be obtained via the Courts.
O. Davis
J. Hollumn
E. Chargingcrow
T. Robinson
Kaile Stevens
Keandre Stevens
Here is a review of the February 11, 2022 shooting of Luis Enrique Parra-Ramirez by Aurora Police Officers Alex Vaughan and Garrett Strode. You can download a copy of the report by clicking on this link.