The Aurora Police Department's Intelligence Unit is asking the public to help identify a white man in his 30s connected to a bias-motivated crime investigation stemming from two incidents at a business in the 1100 block of South Buckley Road. Investigators say the man directed racial slurs at victims who were celebrating an anniversary on August 7, then returned the next day and broke several windows at the same business.
According to the Aurora Police Dept, the confrontation began when anniversary event attendees encountered the person of interest at a nearby liquor store on August 7, leading to an altercation during which he directed racial slurs at the victims. The man returned to the Buckley Road business the following day, August 8, and broke several of its windows, police said. Investigators believe the person of interest has information that could help further the investigation, and they're asking anyone who recognizes him from the photos to contact detectives.
Police describe the man as white, in his 30s, with distinct tattoos on his right arm. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt, red shorts, and a baseball cap. The Aurora Police Department is based in Aurora, Colorado, and posted the appeal for information on August 13.
A Corridor Shared By Neighbors And Airmen
South Buckley Road sits in eastern Aurora next to Buckley Space Force Base, an installation that employs more than 13,000 active-duty, National Guard, and civilian personnel, according to Hoodline. The corridor is a heavily trafficked commercial strip serving both nearby residents and the base's workforce, making it the kind of public-facing business district where an incident like this one draws immediate attention from shoppers and employees alike.
Tipsters who help investigators identify the man can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000. Metro Denver Crime Stoppers accepts tips at 720.913.STOP (7867), and the nonprofit issues tipsters a confidential code number so cash payouts can be collected without revealing their identity, per the city of Lakewood's description of the program.
Why The Case Landed With The Intelligence Unit
Aurora Police Department internal directives call for the agency's Intelligence Unit to retain and evaluate criminal intelligence and investigative leads tied to high-profile bias crimes, rather than leaving them with a standard patrol district. That structure reflects how seriously the department is treating the case even before a suspect has been identified.
Colorado law gives prosecutors real teeth once a suspect is identified. Under C.R.S. § 18-9-121, a bias-motivated crime involving property damage or threats of violence is a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail, while bodily injury elevates the offense to a class 5 felony carrying up to three years in prison, according to Colorado statute. The law also covers “mixed-motive” incidents, meaning prosecutors can pursue bias charges even if prejudice was only part of what drove an altercation alongside a personal dispute, per the city of Boulder's guidance on the statute.
The statute itself was recently expanded. Colorado's Senate Bill 24-189, effective July 1, 2025, added transgender identity and expression alongside sexual orientation to the law's list of protected classes, according to Colorado House Democrats. Separately, House Bill 17-1138 requires all Colorado law enforcement agencies to track and submit bias-motivated crime data through the National Incident-Based Reporting System for annual public disclosures, per the Colorado Department of Public Safety.
Racial Bias Dominates Statewide Hate Crime Data
Race, ethnicity or ancestry bias accounted for 58.6% of all recorded hate crime incidents in Colorado, the largest single motivation category, according to U.S. Department of Justice data. Religious bias and sexual orientation bias made up the second- and third-largest categories statewide. That national reporting flows through the FBI's Crime Data Explorer, which tracks hate crimes voluntarily submitted by local agencies under the Uniform Crime Reporting program.
Aurora has seen severe penalties handed down in bias-motivated cases before. In January, an Aurora driver was sentenced to 20 years under C.R.S. § 18-9-121 after being convicted of a hate-fueled vehicular assault targeting victims based on their perceived sexual orientation. That case illustrates how aggressively local prosecutors have pursued bias-crime enhancements in recent years.
Investigators have not said whether the person of interest acted alone in both the August 7 confrontation and the August 8 window-smashing, and no charges have been announced. Anyone who can identify the man from the released photos is asked to contact Aurora police investigators or submit an anonymous tip through Metro Denver Crime Stoppers.
