Man beaten at light rail station; one suspect arrested, juvenile suspect at large
UPDATE: The Lakewood Police Department said 18-year-old suspect Jaidyn Drury was taken into custody Friday morning. She is being held on suspicion of 2nd-degree assault, bias-motivated crime and harboring a minor. The Juvenile suspect remains at large.
DENVER (KDVR) — Lakewood police have identified two young female suspects who viciously attacked and beat a man at an RTD light rail station and say one of the suspects is expected to turn herself in on Thursday afternoon.
The attack happened at the Wadsworth Boulevard station along the W Line.
Investigators said the victim was waiting on the platform for a train on the night of Feb. 13, at around 9:15 p.m.
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According to police, the two girls, one 15 and the second 18 years old, asked the man for a cigarette. When he said “no,” one of the teens started yelling at him and then began punching him, holding him down by his hair.
The other suspect stood by, yelling racial slurs.
Police said the attack went on for five to six minutes. The victim sustained serious injuries to his face, and some of his personal items were broken.
The Metro Denver Crime Stoppers has released images of the suspects taken by security cameras.
“The victim in this case is an Asian male in his 20’s and from what he told us the racial part of it was a big part of this assault. It’s bad enough of when you have a senseless assault but when it could be racially motivated as well that makes it even more concerning to us, “ said John Romero, Lakewood police public information officer.
FOX31 Reporter Vicente Arenas asked if this incident would be investigated as a hate crime.
“All possibilities are still on the table,” Romero said.
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Arenas also spoke to passengers at the Light Rail station who spoke of problems there.
“It (the attack) worries me; I think it’s something serious. Especially when you can’t be walking to Colfax thinking about what’s going to happen to you,” transit user Julian Flores said.
Flores says more needs to be done to make the area secure.
“Just more security often being here 24-7 seeing how things get here cause at night it gets really crazy,” Flores said.
RTD issued a multi-paragraph statement discussing crime at its facilities and on its transit services. RTD maintains its own police force, RTD-PD, which can be contacted by calling 303-299-2911 or texting 303-434-9100, and partners with over 40 municipalities to address crime. The police force was a shift in 2023 from the agency’s typical route of contracting security forces.
“The increase in sworn police presence is coupled with enhanced customer communications on how to quickly report crimes supports evidence-based policing,” RTD said in its statement. “RTD has also redoubled its efforts to support Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) activities across the entire system.
“Over the last year, RTD has upgraded lights, improved landscaping, added TV monitors that display security feeds and installed smoke detectors in public restrooms across its service area. A CPTED-related pilot is also underway at three light rail stations with elevators. CPTED is a multi-pronged approach aimed at reducing crime and deterring offenders at stations, stops, and facilities,” the statement concluded.
If you have any information, please call Lakewood Police or the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
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