Tag

Aurora police

Charges filed against ex-Aurora police officer involved in on-duty fatal crash

Today, the 18^th 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 18^th 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 18^th 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.

Ex-Aurora officer found guilty of failing to stop another officer’s excessive use of force

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 1^st Degree Assault causing Serious Bodily Injury with a Deadly Weapon

-2^nd 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.

Report of September 24, 2022 officer-involved shooting by Aurora police officers

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.

Grand jury returns 54-count indictment in crime spree involving aggravated robberies, shootings and motor vehicle thefts

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. 8^thAvenue)

January 20, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. 45^th Avenue)

January 26, 2022: 7-Eleven (E. 88^th 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. 13^th 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

Report of February 11, 2022 shooting in Aurora

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.