A Venezuelan man is facing serious charges, including terrorism, after allegedly threatening residents in an Arizona community with firearms and declaring dominion over their neighborhood, according to authorities.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that Javier Enrique Erazo-Zuniga, 27, is accused of asserting control over a portion of Maricopa County and using deadly weapons to intimidate locals into giving him money. These details emerged from investigative reports and official statements.
DPS spokesperson Bart Graves revealed that detectives launched an investigation into Erazo-Zuniga last December. Information had surfaced that he was claiming an area known as Hidden Valley in Maricopa as his own and demanding payments from its residents.
Authorities suspect Erazo-Zuniga is linked to several violent encounters, targeting residents at their homes. In a 2024 incident, he allegedly assaulted a victim by placing them in a headlock and threatening them with a knife, resulting in a neck injury. Just last month, he purportedly held another individual at gunpoint at the end of their driveway.
Erazo-Zuniga was apprehended in Maricopa, Arizona, amid allegations of extortion and territorial claims. Investigators searching his bedroom reportedly found a firearm believed to have been used in one of the gunpoint incidents from December, according to Graves.
During a search of Erazo-Zuniga’s bedroom, detectives recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the December gunpoint incident, Graves said.
Erazo-Zuniga was booked into the Pinal County Jail, where jail records show he remains in custody on a $250,000 secured bond. He was later indicted by a Pinal County grand jury.
Court records obtained by the outlet show the grand jury charged Erazo-Zuniga with aggravated assault involving a firearm, two counts of forgery and two counts of misconduct involving weapons, including possession of handguns while prohibited. Prosecutors allege the aggravated assault charge qualifies as a dangerous felony because it involved the use or threatened exhibition of a firearm.
Javier Enrique Erazo-Zuniga is in custody at the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. (Google Maps)
DPS has also stated that Erazo-Zuniga is charged with assisting a criminal street gang and terrorism, though those allegations were outlined by the agency rather than detailed in the indictment documents released by the Pinal County Superior Court. Authorities have said additional charges could be forthcoming, potentially at the federal level.
According to a minute entry filed in superior court, Erazo-Zuniga is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.
Graves said investigators believe there may be multiple additional victims, but that some have been afraid to come forward.
“We encourage them to contact our tip line,” Graves said. DPS asked anyone with information related to the case to call 602-644-5805.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the investigation could expand beyond Maricopa.
The case comes amid heightened national law enforcement scrutiny of Venezuelan criminal groups following a series of high-profile investigations in Colorado in 2024 and 2025.
Federal prosecutors there indicted Venezuelan nationals accused of participating in organized robberies, kidnappings, extortion schemes and firearms offenses tied to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua. While some early claims of gang “takeovers” were later disputed or clarified, authorities have confirmed multiple violent cases involving coordinated criminal activity and armed suspects.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office and the FBI for additional information.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
