Aurora police arrest two in pastor’s shooting

Surveillance video showed two men attacking an Aurora pastor.

AURORA — One man suspected of shooting a pastor on the 4th of July was arrested Tuesday night. His suspected accomplice was arrested Wednesday morning.

According to the Aurora Police Department, surveillance video aired by FOX31 and other local T.V. networks aided in the arrest of two Aurora men, Christian Vengas-Silva, 19, and Ricardo Telles, 24. Both were arrested without incident in the past 24 hours, and both are being charged with Attempted First Degree Murder and Attempted Aggravated Robbery.

The crime was reported on July 4 at approximately 9:45 p.m., when police responded to a shooting outside the Casa Del Espana Apartments on Nome St. and Colfax. They found a 51-year-old male who had been shoot in the leg and was suffering from non-life threatening injuries.

The victim is a pastor who works with youth in Aurora, though police believe it is doubtful the suspects knew who he was or knew of his profession.

According to the victim, the two suspects pointed a gun at his heart while he was sitting in his car and asked for his keys. The suspects then pulled him out of his vehicle, pistol whipped him and shot him in the thigh before fleeing.

The victim’s son, Jose Gomez Jr., 23, was there with him.

“All of a sudden, I just heard yelling. I looked through the window and saw my dad, pretty much on the ground,” Gomez Jr. said.

Aurora Police are offering a reward of up to $5,000 and Crime Stoppers are offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information that may lead to a conviction of the individuals responsible for the shooting.