Colorado court photos reveal conditions inside Commerce City home at center of 2025 animal cruelty case

For the first time, court photos show the inside of a Commerce City home where Colorado authorities found three children, 31 dogs, two cats and two guinea pigs living last fall.

The investigation began after concerned neighbors called 911 reporting a medical emergency involving a dog.

One caller told dispatchers, "I just hear my neighbors yelling, and someone is trying to revive someone."

Another caller reported, "It looks like they are trying to do CPR on a dog on their front porch."

When officers entered the property, they found the body of a dog in a trash can.

Demetrio Urbina was arrested and charged with multiple weapons offenses. He was accused of manufacturing firearms with a 3D printer. He also was arrested on charges of misdemeanor child abuse, unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine for performing surgery on dogs, and dozens of counts of animal cruelty.

Neighbors say the problems at the property were not new.

"For nine years people have said, when they moved in, and it's been going on, and it just got worse and worse," said a neighbor who requested anonymity.

Records obtained by CBS Colorado show the state's Pet Animal Care Facilities Act program, known as PACFA, received a complaint about Urbina in 2022. During that investigation, officials discovered he had also been the subject of a 2018 tip submitted through Crime Stoppers.

The 2018 tip alleged a home in the neighborhood was operating as a pit bull puppy mill. The caller reported a strong odor coming from the property and claimed a 2- or 3-year-old child was living there.

It is unclear what action, if any, was taken in response to the 2018 complaint. However, PACFA Section Chief Nick Fisher said investigators pursued the 2022 allegations.

"I think what we kind of grappled with to begin with was trying to prove ... we have to have probable cause to be able to enforce what we can enforce," Fisher said.

Investigators spent months gathering evidence through social media that they said showed Urbina was breeding more than two litters per year without a license, a violation of state regulations.

PACFA ultimately issued a cease-and-desist order. Urbina was investigated again in 2023 and 2024.

Asked why repeated complaints and years of monitoring did not stop the operation, Fisher said PACFA's authority is limited.

"For us, if they revert back to being over thresholds that require a license, that's where we're limited," Fisher said. "We're enforcing the regulatory part of it. I can't enforce animal cruelty or animal abuse. That's not within PACFA. We have to refer those cases to animal control."

PACFA records show animal control officers visited the home in 2022 and issued citations for exceeding the maximum number of household pets and for unsanitary enclosure conditions. Despite numerous visits, authorities would not gain access to the home's interior again for nearly three years.

The 911 calls involving the injured dog ultimately provided investigators with probable cause to enter the property and make arrests.

"They thought it had been resolved," the neighbor said.

Urbina later pleaded guilty to one count of possessing an unserialized firearm, one count of unauthorized practice of veterinary medicine and one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Combined with a separate felony case, a judge sentenced him to 120 days in jail and six months in community corrections.

Neighbors say troubling signs have recently returned to the property.

"About a month or so ago, it smelled down there again," the neighbor said.

The neighbor added that "other neighbors were complaining that there were dogs barking from the house."

"How much more do we have to take before the system is going to help?" the neighbor said.

As part of the plea agreement, the child abuse charges against Urbina were dismissed.