Aspen Police make arrests in burglary case

Aspen, CO – The Aspen Police Department has made multiple arrests of suspects in the burglary of an Aspen watch shop. 

Officers were initially called to Avi & Co 602 East Cooper Ave. late Sunday evening, Nov. 10, for a burglary alarm, but left the business when nothing was discovered. Later, around 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 officers were again summoned to the store by a burglary alarm. When officers noticed inconsistencies at the scene from the previous alarm, they investigated further, discovering the burglary. 

Suspects had fled the scene when officers made entry into the store. Officers used modern policing technology to identify a suspect vehicle and the suspects, including license plate recognition technology and video surveillance recordings. A notification was sent state-wide looking for the suspects, who were then contacted by police in Vail. A detective and officer were dispatched to Vail, where the suspects were interviewed and arrested. They are currently housed in the Pitkin County Jail. 

“Our officers did an incredible job investigating this case and rapidly identifying the suspects,” said Aspen Police Chief Kim Ferber. “We alerted law enforcement across Colorado and astute officers from Vail PD recognized the vehicle.” 

The suspects arrested are: 

• Tomas Bravo Toro, a resident of Peru, 34, primary charge of second-degree burglary. 
• Augustin Ramirez Vida, a resident of Buenos Aires, 41, primary charge of second-degree burglary. 
• Paolo Andres Zapata Canate, a resident of Chile, 35, primary charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. 
• Luis Andres Baeza Soto, a resident of Chile, 43, primary charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. 

The city of Aspen emphasizes the fundamental principle that every person accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent unless and until his or her guilt is established beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

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