A Facebook Marketplace jewelry sale in Aurora ended with a decades-long prison sentence for a Denver man, after a jury found he turned an online listing into a violent home invasion while two children were inside the apartment. Frayer Contreras-Gafaro, 24, was sentenced to 75 years in prison after what prosecutors described as a terrifying armed break-in that netted dozens of pieces of jewelry.
According to The Denver Post, a jury convicted Contreras-Gafaro on 11 felony counts, including second-degree kidnapping, aggravated robbery and burglary. He was acquitted of nine additional counts at trial. Prosecutors argued that the presence of children in the home made an already serious case even more grave. The Denver Post also reports that, under the lengthy sentence, Contreras-Gafaro will not be eligible for parole until he is 84 years old.
How the case unfolded
Investigators say the June 12, 2024, encounter started as many online sales do: a Facebook ad, some messages back and forth and a meetup planned at the seller’s home. Things allegedly turned violent once two men arrived at the apartment in the 1300 block of N. Laredo Street in Aurora. The men ordered the woman’s children into a nearby room, pulled guns and took roughly $20,000 in jewelry, according to CBS Colorado.
The victim later identified one of the suspects from photographs, which prosecutors say led detectives to Contreras-Gafaro. During the trial, prosecutors leaned on the trail of Facebook messages and images tied to the planned sale to help connect him to the robbery, CBS Colorado reports.
Prosecutor response
Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Johnny Lombardi framed the case as an assault on a family’s basic sense of security, saying the crime went far beyond a simple robbery. He told the court that the long sentence reflects the weight of threatening children at gunpoint inside their own home, Sentinel Colorado reports.
According to Sentinel Colorado, prosecutors argued to jurors that they pursued the most serious charges available because firearms were involved and minors were among the victims.
Legal specifics and next steps
Court records show Contreras-Gafaro was convicted on 11 felony counts and acquitted on nine others, including charges related to theft and child abuse, per The Denver Post. With parole eligibility pushed far into the future, the 75-year term effectively keeps him incarcerated for decades to come.
Law enforcement agencies and national fraud trackers warn that internet-enabled transactions can be prime opportunities for criminals, and they routinely urge extra caution for in-person meetups. Safety tips include arranging exchanges in public, well-lit locations, bringing another adult along, verifying identities as much as possible and promptly reporting suspicious behavior to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), according to the FBI.
Anyone with information related to the Aurora case is asked to contact Arapahoe County authorities or the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
