DENVER — The Denver District Attorney’s Office said Friday that 23 suspects linked to more than 40 burglaries at marijuana dispensaries were arrested.
The 23 suspects are members of two separate organized crime groups, and they will also face charges in connection to stealing or carjacking vehicles that were used in the burglaries at the dispensaries, federal firearms licensees and other businesses, the DA’s office said.
The crimes the suspects are linked to took place between September 2022 and November 2023 and resulted in the theft of approximately $780,000, the DA’s office said.
Charges the suspects will face include motor vehicle theft, burglary, aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms (including a firearm linked to an open murder investigation), and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, according to the DA’s office.
The arrests were the result of a lengthy investigation that included Denver Police Department, Aurora Police Department, FBI, ATF, the Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network (RAVEN) and the Violent Criminal Enterprise Task Force.
“These arrests send an unmistakable message that law enforcement agencies throughout the Denver metro area are committed to working together to disrupt and disband dangerous criminal organizations,” District Attorney Beth McCann said in a statement. “The streets of Denver are safer today because of these two investigations and I am grateful to the many law enforcement officers who have worked so hard on these cases to get us to this point.”
“Criminal networks don’t pay attention to geographic or jurisdictional boundaries. The FBI warrants were executed by our local partners at Denver Police, Aurora Police and Thornton Police, with support by our federal partners at Homeland Security Investigations and our state partners at the Marijuana Enforcement Division,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “The FBI will continue to use all available tools and resources to suppress violent crime and keep Coloradans safe.”
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