Rolex robberies in upscale Denver neighborhood lead to suspected Venezuelan Tren De Aragua gang member

A series of three attempted armed street robberies targeting men with Rolex watches in Denver's Cherry Creek North neighborhood led police and federal investigators to deport one suspected Venezuelan Tren De Aragua gang member. A second suspect in the robberies is still being sought, according to a CBS investigation.

The brazen armed robberies in late 2024 involved a gunman who, police say, surprised elderly men in the prestigious Cherry Creek North neighborhood and demanded that the victims give up their watches. In two of the cases, the victims refused to turn over their Rolexes, and the gunman fled.

Larry Detrich, 85, is one of those men. He lives in the neighborhood and had just had coffee with friends at 2nd Avenue and Fillmore Street on November 1, 2024, when he got into his car to leave. It was still daylight.

"I got into my car and heard a tap tap tap on the window," said Detrich. "And I looked over and down the barrel of a 9 millimeter pistol".

Detrich was wearing a 40-year-old Rolex watch that he says is worth about $15,000. 

"I had a feeling of rage that came over me," he said.

He refused to give the gunman his watch and proceeded to get out of his car and berate the gunman.

"I told him no, I wasn't going to give him the watch. In order to get my watch," said Detrich, "he was going to have to kill me, which would have been a real mess for me. It went through my mind if this is the end, so be it. I just didn't want to give up the watch under these circumstances."

The gunman fled and is still being sought by Denver police. He has been identified by his victims and the Department of Homeland Security as 28-year-old Daiker Rivero-Urbano.

Ten days later and four blocks away, at 3rd Avenue and Steele Street, during the middle of the afternoon, a gunman approached a prominent 71-year-old criminal defense attorney from Denver who was walking his dog. The gunman demanded the attorney's  Rolex.

According to a Denver police document, "The suspect demanded his watch at gunpoint," but the lawyer "refused to give him the watch. The suspect took off running eastbound on foot," and the lawyer ran the opposite direction. The attorney did not respond to inquiries from CBS about the incident.

Denver police turned to Flock license plate reading cameras in the area and found that in both attempted robbery cases, a gray 2006 Honda Civic with a temporary plate and other distinct markings was in the area.

Denver Police Commander Cliff Barnes said, "In this case, we were able to say, 'OK, we have a specific type of vehicle we're looking for,' and we had a color, we had a make and model. And we were able to put that into the system and start looking for the vehicle that may have been in that area at that time."

Barnes said Denver has 111 Flock cameras as part of a pilot program. According to a Denver police document, a dark gray Honda Civic was picked up by Flock cameras in the Cherry Creek area at the time of both street robberies. Flock cameras showed the vehicle traveled from Denver to the Greeley area, according to the Denver police investigation. Denver police tracked the car to Fernando Rodriguez-Da Silva, a Venezuelan national who was living in Greeley.

They also tracked his cellphone and say his phone "was present during both robberies and (he) tried to cover his tracks by turning the phone off right before both robberies."

Rodriguez-Da Silva was arrested. Tricia McLaughlin, Undersecretary of Public Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, says he "is a criminal Venezuelan illegal alien and a member of the vicious Tren De Aragua gang." She went on to say that "In addition to his gang ties, Rodriguez-Da Silva has been arrested for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon and is admitted to being the getaway driver for numerous TDA Denver-area robberies."

Her statement said that Rodriguez-Da Silva was "removed" from the U.S. on March 15, 2025, and deported to El Salvador.

DHS did not respond to follow-up questions from CBS on the evidence that linked the Venezuelan national to TdA.

Denver police say the second suspect, Rivero-Urbano, is believed to have left the state. Police are asking anyone with information on Rivero-Urbano to contact Metro Denver Crimestoppers.

Police and safety experts say if you are the victim of an armed robber, you should make your personal safety and well-being a priority over your possessions. One police department suggests staying calm, not resisting and doing as the robber instructs. Money and property can be replaced, say police.

Larry Detrich, who has lived in Cherry Creek North since 1988, said he has lived a life of fearlessness, including being a professional race car driver, bungee jumping and serving with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam. But in retrospect, he says not surrendering his Rolex to an armed assailant was "totally foolish," and he said his wife agreed. "She told me I was stupid," said Detrich.