Grand Junction, CO - June 19, 2025

In our sustained effort to provide transparency and accountability into the incident involving Caroline Dias Goncalves and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), we are issuing the following statement.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to perform a full administrative investigation into the conduct of our Office during the June 5, 2025, traffic stop involving Caroline Dias Goncalves. The investigation includes reviewing communications from members of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office with our local, state, and federal partners via the communication group, Signal, to ensure Mesa County Sheriff’s Office employees included in that group communication acted within Mesa County Sheriff’s Office policies and Colorado law. This includes, but is not limited to, working to understand if and when Mesa County Sheriff’s Office employees were made aware that the information shared for drug interdiction efforts was being utilized for immigration enforcement.

Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alexander Zwinck has been placed on Administrative Leave pending the outcome of the administrative investigation. Any repercussions will be determined by the outcome of the full administrative investigation.

We ask the public and our media partners to please allow us time as we conduct this investigation to ensure we hold ourselves accountable for our role in this incident and correct our practices and policies to comply with Colorado law.

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has established a phone line to allow community members to voice their concerns or comments regarding this incident. The phone line can be reached at 970-244-3533. Please note, while this line is monitored, not all messages will be responded to. If you are experiencing an emergency, dial 911.