Two Denver men arrested after kidnapping, cutting off roommate’s finger, police say

Two men were arrested Friday after allegedly kidnapping and assaulting their roommate for two days, including cutting off his finger, in Denver’s Westwood neighborhood.

The man reported the kidnapping Thursday at a Denver Police Department district station, where he told officers that four people he lived with held him against his will in the 500 block of South Hazel Court and assaulted him, including cutting off one of his fingers, department officials said in an email.

The man was able to escape after two days.

Investigators identified two suspects in the case and arrested Jose Pineda-Moreno, 19, and Darwin Veliz-Gonzalez, 34, on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, assault and criminal extortion on Friday.

Officers had responded to the area for a welfare check the night of Oct. 16 and “investigated to the extent they were able without having full consent or sufficient evidence of a crime to support requesting a search warrant,” police officials said in an email Wednesday.

The man told police that the suspects left the area after the welfare check and he was able to escape.

Police are still investigating the case, including identifying two other suspects and whether the kidnapping was gang-related, according to the department. Arrest affidavits for Pineda-Moreno and Veliz-Gonzalez are currently sealed.

“We believe this is an isolated incident and have no reason to believe this situation poses a risk to the greater community,” DPD officials said Wednesday.

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.