Car theft, fraud, robbery crime ring busted in Aurora
A major crime ring has been busted around Aurora that centers around robberies, auto thefts, fraud and attempted murders. The Aurora police chief and the 18th Judicial District Attorney said they've worked with the FBI to break up a crime ring that stole identities and cars as well as being linked to at least seven armed robberies of convenience stores.
"It's not just property crime, it's not just stolen identities, these things are brought together by criminal enterprises to do much worse," said 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner.
Today, we announced a 54-count grand jury indictment. 6 people are charged in a large-scale criminal enterprise that involved robberies, auto thefts, fraud & attempted murders. We thank our partners at @FBIDenver, @AuroraPD & @CO_Revenue for helping solve this case. (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/eL3fVHc3Kf
— DA Office of 18th (@DA18th) October 19, 2022
Six people have been indicted in the organized crime ring bust. Investigators believe Kaile Stevens ran the operation by stealing identities and then using those identities to steal cars which where then used in violent robberies.
"It's essential that when we have serious property crimes that we address them early, we do the best we can and we hold people accountable, because the progression of events, in this case, led to some very serious violent crime," said Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates.
"This group, this criminal enterprise, wreaked havoc on our community. They terrorized innocent convenience store clerks, who had guns pointed in their faces. and we're talking about seven different robberies we've linked to this group," said Kellner.
A grand jury returned 54 counts against this criminal enterprise and the DA said he will be using the Colorado Organized Crime Act to prosecute.
Oates said that 50% of violent crime in the city begins with a stolen vehicle. The hope is that legislators will increase penalities next year.