A Fort Carson soldier is accused of dealing cocaine and offering to sell illegal weapons to an undocumented immigrant while part of a security company that staffed an illicit Colorado Springs nightclub with armed guards, a job he continued in defiance of an order from his commanding officer.
Juan Gabriel Orona-Rodriguez was arrested Wednesday on one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute a substance containing cocaine and one count of conspiracy in connection with an underground club, Warike, that was raided by federal agents early Sunday morning, according to an FBI arrest affidavit.
As of Thursday, his was the only federal criminal case connected to the raid, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
Orona-Rodriguez appears to be a leader or owner of Immortal Security LLC, which employs other active-duty and former military members, despite a commanding officer telling Orona-Rodriguez that working for the company was “off limits” to military members and he was forbidden from off-duty employment without approval. Employees at the company are suspected of illegal drug distribution, including at the club at 296 South Academy Boulevard, investigators wrote in the complaint.
FBI officials say Orona-Rodriguez sold cocaine to an undercover U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, and a federal search warrant found he was texting with a conspirator and customers as part of a cocaine distribution scheme since at least September.
In texts sent in February, March and April, Orona-Rodriguez discussed drug quantities and quality with an unnamed conspirator and made plans to pick up the drugs and for the conspirator to deliver them to Warike, court records show. The conspirator is believed to be a Mexican citizen who is in the country illegally and Orona-Rodriguez’s supplier.
Texts with customers show Orona-Rodriguez negotiating the cost and amount of an unnamed substance that, based on the prices, is most likely cocaine, investigators wrote. In one exchange, he tells a customer the price of two ounces was $1,700 but increased to $1,800 because it’s “getting expensive,” according to the complaint.
In another conversation, a customer tells Orona-Rodriguez that they’re at the club and want half a “zip,” a slang term for an ounce.
The FBI also found texts showing Orona-Rodriguez was sending photos of guns he could sell to an unnamed customer, who asked about paying partially in cash and partially in cocaine. He told the customer, who investigators say was an undocumented immigrant, that he would only accept cash.
In a statement Thursday, Fort Carson officials said they were aware a soldier was arrested and will continue cooperating with the agencies involved in the investigation. Base officials did not answer questions about whether Fort Carson is also investigating Orona-Rodriguez.
Federal agents detained more than 100 undocumented immigrants after the 3:45 a.m. raid at Warike, which DEA officials say was home to drug trafficking, prostitution and violent crime. The raid drew condemnation from Colorado Springs activists and a subsequent pushback from law enforcement, who criticized the spread of a “false narrative” aimed at villainizing police.
A similar raid of an illegal Adams County nightclub in January did not lead to any charges, though 41 people were detained by ICE.
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