The final suspect wanted in what police say was a violent kidnapping that terrorized two Venezuelan immigrants at a northwest Aurora apartment complex with a troubled history has been returned to Colorado to face charges, police said Thursday.
Aurora police said Jorman Jose Cuba-Zabala, 26, of Venezuela, was apprehended by investigators in Chicago on April 28 after allegedly stealing two pairs of eyeglasses worth more than $800 from a department store. According to an Aurora police statement, he was wanted on an Aurora warrant for a kidnapping and assault at The Edge at Lowry Apartments in December 2024.
For more than a year, the apartment complex has served as a focal point in the city’s debates about crime, immigration, and housing.
Cuba-Zabala was extradited to Colorado on October 4 and put into the Arapahoe County Jail, where he is being held on a $250,000 bond. He faces four counts of second-degree kidnapping, four counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of menacing with a deadly weapon, and two counts of extortion, all of which are felonies, according to Aurora Police spokesman Joy Moylan.
Police say the arrest represents the twelfth and last person charged in the case. The inquiry is still ongoing, and all 12 are now in police custody.
Police initially identified as many as 19 persons as possible suspects in the crime.
Police Chief Todd Chamberlain called the incident of December 17, 2024, one of the most brutal cases the department has encountered in recent years.
Detectives reported that a group of armed assailants confronted a man and woman, both Venezuelan immigrants, in their flat about 9 p.m. They were kidnapped, taken to a vacant unit in the same building, and “tortured” for hours before being freed about 2 a.m., Chamberlain told reporters at a press conference in December.
“They were pistol-whipped. They were beaten. One of the victims was actually stabbed,” Chamberlain said. “Does that fall in the category of torture? For me, yeah, it does.”
The pair, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries, were taken to the hospital and placed under police protection. Chamberlain stated that the couple had “an incredible amount of courage” by coming out despite worries of deportation or reprisal.
Police later stated that a parking-lot mobile phone video, which became part of a wider debate, provoked the incident.
The attack occurred at The Edge at Lowry Apartments, which is located near East 12th Avenue and Dallas Street. The complex has been the location of numerous crimes, including a fatal shooting captured on viral video earlier in 2024, which drew national attention and political turmoil to Aurora.
Residents and campaigners claim that the property’s circumstances have worsened for years under its owner, CBZ Management, which the city accuses of neglecting upkeep and allowing dangerous living conditions to endure.
Aurora officials have filed civil and criminal charges against the corporation, claiming that it has rejected repeated requests to rehabilitate the property.
The authorities closed the complex earlier this year, claiming unlivable circumstances.
Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Police added that tipsters can stay anonymous while still being eligible for a $2,000 prize.