DENVER (KDVR) Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell is apologizing after one of his deputies may have illegally shared a 19-year-old’s information with federal immigration officers, resulting in her detainment outside Fruita.

The sheriff’s office first addressed the matter in June, saying it was not involved with immigration efforts. The office said it learned that a “communication group,” later revealed to be a Signal app chat, may have been used for immigration purposes. The group was meant only for drug interdiction efforts. At least one deputy from the sheriff’s office was in that group, including Deputy Alexander Zwinck.

The deputy’s conversations in the chat may have led to the detention of Caroline Dias-Goncalves on June 5 in Mesa County by Homeland Security Investigations.

“As Mesa County Sheriff, I take full responsibility for this incident,” Rowell wrote on Wednesday. “The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has well-established practices limiting our involvement in immigration enforcement. However, the Administrative Review conducted in response to Miss Dias-Goncalves’ detainment highlighted the need for enhanced training and clarification of evolving legal responsibilities under Colorado Senate Bill 25-276, which had been signed into law 13 days prior to this stop.

“Based on our findings, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office should not have had any role in the chain of events leading to Miss Dias-Goncalves’s detention, and I regret that this occurred,” Rowell continued. “I apologize to Miss Dias-Goncalves.”

The bill referenced by Rowell is meant to protect immigration rights in Colorado by increasing data privacy for residents regardless of immigration status. The sheriff’s office said Wednesday that staff members received “in-depth training” on the measure, and more training on immigration-based legislative changes will be provided.

The federal government sued Colorado over such laws.

Last week, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit against Zwinck for allegedly helping federal immigration agents find and arrest the teenager. The AG’s Office is also investigating whether other law enforcement officers on the regional drug task force that Zwick worked on shared information with federal agents.

The following disciplinary actions were taken by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office against the involved deputies:

• Zwinck was placed on three weeks of unpaid administrative leave and will be removed from the Western Colorado Task Force and reassigned to patrol
• Deputy Erick Olson was placed on two weeks of unpaid administrative leave and will be removed from the Western Colorado Task Force and reassigned to patrol
• Sgt. Joe LeMoine was suspended without pay for two days
• Lt. David Holdren received a letter of reprimand that will be permanently in his personnel file
• Capt. Curtis Brammer was provided with documented counseling

Sheriff seeks lawsuit’s dismissal, calls it ‘demoralizing’

Rowell wrote that he provided the Colorado Attorney General’s Office with an unredacted download of the group chat, which he said was quoted “several times” in the lawsuit.

Rowell said the chat showed Colorado State Patrol troopers also provided personal identifying information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and members of other local law enforcement agencies who engaged in conduct similar to Zwinck’s.

“I ask that Attorney General Weiser apply the law equally to all law enforcement and government officials instead of making Deputy Zwinck an example,” Rowell wrote. “This would include filing lawsuits and hosting press conferences for each state and local law enforcement officer in the group chat and other government officials who have violated SB 21-131 and SB 25-276. Alternatively, I request the Attorney General dismiss the lawsuit against Deputy Zwinck to allow internal discipline and training to take place as law enforcement across Colorado adjusts to SB 25-276.”

Rowell also called on Homeland Security Investigations to release the Signal chat records as a whole, since the group chat is owned by that agency, not the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.

“As it stands, the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office sends a demoralizing message to law enforcement officers across Colorado—that the law may be wielded selectively and publicly for maximum political effect rather than applied fairly and consistently,” Rowell wrote.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office provided a statement on Wednesday to affiliate KDVR about the investigation and the sheriff’s request.

“The attorney general was presented with facts that showed blatant violations of state law. As the attorney general said last week, other law enforcement agencies are under investigation for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations. The Mesa County sheriff has a job to do to investigate and discipline his employees. The attorney general has a duty to enforce state laws and protect Coloradans and will continue to do so,” the office’s statement read.

Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew C. Packard also provided a statement on the matter, and said his agency will continue to work with federal partners on criminal matters “while following Colorado State law on immigration enforcement.”

He said the incident prompted a reevaluation of CSP’s use of Signal due to the apparent lack of shared purpose among the agencies included.

“For the Patrol, our use was for operations targeting the combat of drug trafficking and organized crime; other organizations may have different priorities and goals,” Packard said. “As of June 18, 2025, the Patrol no longer shares information on this chat.

“The Colorado State Patrol respects the ongoing Administrative Review launched by Attorney General Phil Weiser as part of professional accountability and continuous improvement of policing in our State,” Packard continued. “We respect Mesa County Sheriff Rowell’s corrective actions, but believe his judgments regarding the Patrol are misinformed and premature. The Patrol remains committed to transparency in this process.”

June 5: Teen’s immigration status shared in group chat

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office shared last month that 19-year-old Caroline Dias-Goncalves was stopped by Zwinck on June 5 for allegedly tailgating a semitrailer on Interstate 70 near Loma.

During the stop, Zwinck asked her to sit inside his vehicle while he filled out the paperwork. He also asked Dias-Goncalvez where she was headed and where she was driving from.

According to an investigative summary published by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, during the stop, Zwinck sent a photo of Dias-Goncalves’s driver’s license to “local Homeland Security Investigators and Drug Enforcement Agency agents” in the Signal chat, allegedly to see if she was involved in narcotics transportation or other illegal activity. While that information was shared, Zwinck invited the teen to his cruiser, where she sat in the front passenger seat.

The summary said Zwinck received information from HSI that showed Dias-Goncalves was clear of criminal involvement, but was a Brazilian native who had overstayed her visa. That’s when Zwinck allegedly asked Dias-Goncalves about her accent and where she was from.

While inside his cruiser, Dias-Goncalves told him she was born in Brazil but lived in Utah for over a decade. Video of the stop was shared by the sheriff’s office on YouTube.

The investigative summary reported that when Dias-Goncalves was departing the traffic stop, HSI agents told Zwinck they were en route to contact the teen. The deputy allegedly told the agents he was no longer in contact with her, and said she was heading eastbound and provided her vehicle description.

“A short time later, HSI agents advised Zwinck they had subsequently contacted Caroline and detained her,” the summary states.

Dias-Goncalves was taken to the ICE detention facility in Aurora, where she was held for 15 days before posting bond.

‘Concerning’ messages found in drug interdiction chat

The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office investigative summary of the matter listed some “concerning messages” from the group chat that were found after the contents were forensically extracted.

The messages show Mesa County investigators communicated with HSI agents about traffic stops, including traffic stops that involved people who were not U.S. citizens. Here are a few of the messages as described in the investigative document:

• 05/22/25 – (Redacted name) messaged about a subject potentially having immigration issues, but added “they might be full for the day.” Zwinck then asked, “What’s max capacity?”
• 06/03/25 – Zwinck made a traffic stop on the interstate with two subjects in the vehicle. He conducted his investigation, searched the vehicle under consent and then HSI agents arrived on the scene and detained the two subjects. HSI asked for help. The chat content showed Zwinck asking for his handcuffs back.
  • The sheriff’s office said that, upon further review via the deputy’s body-worn camera footage, it was found that Zwinck had handcuffed the subject himself to assist the HSI agent.

In interviews with Zwinck, leadership pressed the deputy for details about these messages, as well as others. He was asked why he continued to participate in the Signal chat after the first media reports of the teen’s arrest began to surface.

According to the investigative summary, Zwinck told leadership the media coverage “did not give him any pause because he wasn’t and hasn’t done any immigration enforcement.” He also said he did not believe his actions and working relationship with HSI were in any kind of “gray area” as he was “simply providing information in order to obtain information.”