ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
It’s not just the evidence that authorities are investigating in the overnight burglary of a downtown Aspen seller of uber-upscale watches. Unraveling the suspects’ identities has led them to link one of the suspects to a crime committed in New York, a prosecutor said in court Friday.
Additionally, three of the four South American males arrested in connection to the burglary of Avi & Co. on East Cooper Avenue gave false identification to authorities when they were interviewed and arrested, Deputy District Attorney James Stone said in a previous court hearing held Dec. 16.
One of the co-defendants told authorities his name is Augustin Ramirez-Vidal, which also is his identity presented in charging documents and on Pitkin County Jail’s inmate log. At the co-defendant’s bond hearing, however, Stone told Pitkin County District Judge Laura C. Makar that “the person that is in front of the court is not Agustin Ramirez-Vidal. His actual name is Juan Ignacio Blanco Fuentes.”
“We’re looking at somebody who is not who he said he was,” said Stone, noting that the District Attorney’s Office had “new information that DNA left at a crime scene in September 2024 in New York” matched that of the Ramirez-Vidal (the Aspen Daily News is using the defendant’s name that is identified in court and jail records).
Stone declined to elaborate about that newly disclosed information after the hearing, which was requested by the co-defendant to have his cash-only bond amount of $100,000 reduced or have its condition changed to cash-surety, which involves a bail-bond company. Judge Makar denied the request, preserving the cash-only $100,000 bond.
Front Range lawyer Justie Nicol, freshly appointed defense counsel to the Ramirez-Vidal case, would not concede to Stone’s claim that her client’s DNA was associated with a crime in New York.
“Typically, formal DNA matches can take months,” Nicol said. “I don’t know if it’s persuasive.”
Authorities say Ramirez-Vidal, 41, is from Argentina. He faces three felony counts of second-degree burglary and single felony counts of criminal attempt to commit theft, attempt to influence a public servant and criminal mischief. His immigration status is unclear; Nicol told Makar he has family in Miami and could make living arrangements in Colorado were he unable to post bond.
“I don’t see that my client has an (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) hold regarding immigration, but I would note that another co-defendant granted a $5,000 cash surety bond was released from jail and ICE did take him,” Nicol said in court.
That defendant, Paulo Zapata-Canete, 35, of Chile, was the sole co-defendant to provide a correct identification to authorities, according to Stone.
Court records indicate Zapata-Canete posted the cash-only bond Wednesday, Dec. 18, and waived extradition to ICE on Thursday. ICE web records show Zapata-Canete currently is detained in the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora.
Zapata-Canete posted bond after Makar reduced it Dec. 16 from the $25,000 cash-only amount he had been held on since he was booked. Stone noted at the Dec. 16 hearing that Zapata-Canete — whose court-appointed lawyer from Carbondale, Kathy Goudy, argued for a reduced bond amount — was the sole co-defendant honest with authorities about his identity.
Zapata-Canete is believed to have played a less significant role in the burglary than the other suspects; he is charged with three felony counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree burglary.
The two other defendants remain in Pitkin County Jail.
Tomas Bravo-Toro, 34, of Peru, is charged with three felony counts of second-degree burglary and single felony counts of criminal attempt to commit theft, attempt to influence a public servant and criminal mischief. His cash-only bond amount is $100,000.
Luis Baeza-Soto, 44, of Chile, is charged with three felony charges of conspiracy to commit second-degree burglary and a fourth felony, attempt to influence a public servant. He is in custody on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
All four suspects told authorities that they were visiting the U.S., according to court documents. None of the suspects have entered a plea; they have reserved their rights to hold a preliminary hearing on the charges and are due back in court in January.
Authorities say they used blowtorches, saws, drills, hammers, crowbars and other tools to tunnel their way into retailer on the overnight of Nov. 10-11 The store’s vault containing its most valuable inventory was not compromised, but there was significant damage to the Avi & Co. structure and some of the connecting business the alleged burglars used for access, authorities said.
A video showed a fifth suspect involved, a manager of Avi & Co. previously told the Aspen Daily News.