While on patrol in August, Aurora Police Officer Marco Gomez made his rounds past an area known for its gang activity.
He kept his eyes alert, and saw something that struck him as odd. That quick instinct recently won Gomez the title of Employee of the Month with the department.
According to police reports, on Aug. 12, around 7:30 p.m., Gomez’s squad car was cruising down the 500 block of Grove Street when it was spotted by a group of teenage boys. Gomez said that when the teens caught sight of him, they went running down a driveway and into a nearby backyard.
Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli described how Gomez got out of his vehicle to investigate the suspicious behavior.
As he approached the backyard where the teens were, Gomez said he spotted a 14-year-old boy standing near a chain link fence. Gomez said it appeared he was trying to dispose of something.
After being spotted, the teen ran away, despite Gomez’s requests for him to stop.
Ferrelli said Gomez called for back-up while he took two teens at the scene into custody.
Responding officers found the 14-year-old suspect who had fled hiding inside a nearby home.
The teen was charged with four counts of felony unlawful use of a weapon after officers found a .40-caliber handgun near the fence where he had been standing.
Ferrelli said the gun was reported stolen during a home invasion that had occurred on the East Side of Aurora.
According to Investigative Sgt. Matt Thomas, the incident is still under investigation.
Thomas said stolen weapons are important to recover because they are often used during the commission of other violent crimes.
Around 50 percent of the time, stolen weapons brought into Aurora come from outside the city, he said.
“They tend to grow legs when they’re stolen from other places. Somehow, they end up here,” he said.
Which is why Gomez’s instincts that August night were so crucial, Aurora Police Chief Gregory Thomas said.
“Every time a gun is taken off the streets we can only surmise that we have prevented a shooting,” Thomas said.