Murders tripled in Aurora in the first six months of this year when compared to the same time period in 2004. At the same time, Denver’s homicides decreased by more than half, according to crime statistics released today by the FBI.
Fifteen people were killed in Aurora in the first half of 2005 compared to five victims in first half of 2004, the statistics show.
Two of those victims, Crystal Arguello and her 1-year-old son were stabbed to death in January. The suspected killer is her husband Damien Arguello.
CSU graduates Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe, were gunned down in June while in a car at an Aurora intersection because Marshall-Fields was a witness to a shooting a year before and set to testify against the gunman.
Just days later, 19-year-old Krystal Martinez was shot to death in the Aurora Mall after her boyfriend got into an argument with another man in the shopping center.
Aurora Police spokesman Marcus Dudley said the homicides this year could not be attributed to any one trend such as gangs or drugs and most murders cannot be prevented.
Crimes that decreased in Aurora include theft and larceny, Dudley said.
Denver reported 47 homicides in the first half of 2004. There were 21 in the same time period this year.
Homicide is one of the hardest crimes to prevent or predict, said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
“When they are down, they are not in our control,” Jackson said. “When they are up they are not in our control. We can’t take credit when they’re down and we can’t take credit when its up.”
Although Denver’s homicides and assaults dropped in the first six months of the year, there were increases in robberies, burglaries, auto theft, rape and theft. Arson was the biggest crime to increase in Denver with a 44 percent jump from 88 to 127 deliberately set fires.
“We look at the statistics and study them to see what’s going on and see what we can do to prevent these crimes,” Jackson said. The statistics are also used as a guide to see if an increase in resources on a particular area can combat the problem, he said.
The cities of Centennial, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Lakewood and Colorado Springs were also analyzed in the FBI crime reports.
Colorado Springs saw small increases in both violent and property crimes. Robbery in Pueblo dropped in half and homicides there doubled from four killings to nine.
The statistics compare crimes in U.S. cities with a population over 100,000 people from January through June of 2004 and 2005.
The categories of violent crime include murder, assault, rape and robbery. Property crimes include burglary, theft, auto theft. Arson data is compiled in its own category.
Across the U.S., total violent crimes decreased 0.5 percent and property crimes dropped 2.8 percent, the statistics show. However, murder nationwide increased 2 percent.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or at fcardona@denverpost.com.
