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Hearing postponed over alleged Venezuelan gang member accused of assaulting Aurora apartment manager

Hearing postponed over alleged Venezuelan gang member accused of assaulting Aurora apartment manager

AURORA | The hearing for the man accused of bleeding a CBZ Management property manager after attacking him in a northwest Aurora apartment was postponed until December.

On November 14, 2023, the manager of the Whispering Pines Condominiums at 1357 Helena St., Zev Baumgarten, was allegedly attacked by Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose, who also reportedly threatened the life of another resident of the apartment complex the same day. .

Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose

The CBZ Management X account seems to be referring to the alleged incident in their thread about Tren de Aragua’s gang ‘taking over’ their apartment complexes in Aurora.

Aurora police and city officials have repeatedly disputed allegations by property owners and City Council Member Danielle Jurinsky that Venezuelan gangs had overrun the property or area. City officials say the problems at Whispering Pines and two other properties in northwest Aurora owned by CBZ are mainly caused by mismanagement, not Venezuelan immigrants or gangs. Mayor Mike Coffman has repeatedly called CBZ ‘slumlords’.

CBZ officials and their city council supporters are behind claims that their complexes are being overrun by gangs.

“After some time we noticed an increase in crime and complaints from tenants. The most alarming moment occurred when our local CBZ representative was attacked in late 2023,” CBZ Management said in an X-account opened in September, which focuses on controversial apartment issues in three buildings in northwest Aurora. “He had gone to inspect a recently vacant three-bedroom apartment (a rare occurrence for such a large unit) and found a group of men already there. When he refused their $500 bribe to overlook the situation, they brutally attacked him. This photo was taken shortly after he escaped, just before he was admitted to hospital.”

The photo accompanying the post shows a man with a beard and glasses, with blood on his mouth, face and clothing.

A letter written by law firm Perkins Coie – which represents CBZ interests – to Aurora police states: “Nov. In 2023, a property management company consultant was so severely beaten and abused by gang members that he had to be hospitalized. Notably, this incident was captured on videotape, which we understand was provided to the Aurora Police Department.

An arrest affidavit filed in the incident in the 18th Judicial District Court is currently suppressed, but the complaint listed Medina-Jose’s charges. On August 5, Medina-Jose was arrested by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office on an Arapahoe District Court warrant. Medina-Jose was charged with felony menacing for threatening another Whispering Pines resident. He was also charged with third-degree assault on the property manager.

Aurora Police Department officials announced on September 11 that they had identified Medina-Jose as a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.

At the request of Medina-Jose’s attorney, the arraignment hearing was postponed to December 6. He remains in custody at the Arapahoe County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bond.