The Mesa County sheriff’s deputy who provided information to federal officials about a Utah college student he pulled over, resulting in her arrest by immigration agents, has been placed on administrative leave. Investigator Alexander Zwinck stopped 19-year-old Caroline Dias Goncalves on June 5 on Interstate 70 near Loma for following a tractor-trailer too closely, as reported by the sheriff’s office. Although Zwinck only issued a warning to Dias Goncalves, he shared details of the traffic stop in a Signal group chat used by local and federal law enforcement for drug trafficking purposes.
Shortly after the traffic stop, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Dias Goncalves in Grand Junction and transferred her to the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, where she has been held for the past two weeks. Dias Goncalves, a University of Utah student who arrived in the U.S. from Brazil at the age of 7 and overstayed a tourist visa, has a pending asylum application, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
Following an immigration judge’s decision to grant bail in Dias Goncalves’ case, her attorney announced that she is expected to be released in the coming days. Meanwhile, Zwinck has been placed on leave as the sheriff’s office conducts an investigation into the incident. Colorado state law prohibits local law enforcement from collaborating with federal agents on civil immigration enforcement.
Mesa County officials are now examining the messages exchanged in the Signal group chat to ensure that sheriff’s employees adhered to agency policies and state regulations. This review includes determining whether staff members were informed that information shared for drug interdiction purposes was being utilized for immigration enforcement.
For more Colorado news, readers can subscribe to the daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter. The original article was published on June 19, 2025, at 7:29 PM MDT.
