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Police arrest one of the detainees that escaped from Aurora’s ICE facility

One detainee who escaped a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Aurora facility was found and arrested two days later.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office arrested 32-year-old Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez early Friday morning after he escaped the ICE processing facility in Aurora on Tuesday evening following a power outage, according to a social media post by ICE Denver.

“He will remain in ICE custody pending criminal and immigration proceedings,” the agency said in the post.

A deputy contacted a suspicious person in the area of West 64th Avenue and Beach Street — near Berkley — around 4:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

The man was identified as Gonzales-Gonzales and was taken into temporary custody until ICE arrived. ICE arrived and took the man into custody in a “reasonable amount of time,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Gonzalez and Vido Romero Gueilond-Jose fled from the facility, operated by the company GEO Group, around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday after a power outage at the building, according to the Aurora Police Department. 

The two were not discovered to be missing until several hours later, according to an Aurora Police Department report obtained by The Denver Gazette.

It says a staff member from the ICE facility notified the Aurora Police Department that staff noticed the two men were missing at around 10 p.m. Tuesday and confirmed that fact when they performed an emergency head count at 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

However, the police report says the last time they were officially accounted for was at 2 p.m. Tuesday, when a facility-wide count was completed. 

Fingers started pointing Thursday morning when ICE officials claimed they provided prompt notice and police refused to assist. In a statement to 9NEWS, ICE said of the Aurora police, “Local authorities were notified immediately and declined to assist with the search.” The ICE spokesperson said they alerted “additional state and federal law enforcement partners.”

APD Chief Todd Chamberlain bristled at the accusation, disputing that they did not receive an “immediate” phone call from ICE. 

Instead, Aurora Police say that they didn’t receive a 911 call from the facility until 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, 4-5 hours after the men escaped.

An ICE spokesperson said anyone with information on the whereabouts of the other man should call the ICE Tip Line at (866) 347-2423 or complete the online tip form.

Denver Gazette reporter Carol McKinley contributed to this report.


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