Rock Springs business owner detained following traffic stop; family claims legal status
ROCK SPRINGS — What began as a routine traffic stop for a local business owner on Friday, Jan. 9, has escalated into a federal immigration detention, leaving a family in turmoil and a community rallying for answers.
Gloria Guerra and her wife, Ana Canedo Luna, have called Rock Springs home for three years. Luna, originally from Mexicali, Mexico, and Guerra, a native of Delta, Utah, are well known in the community as the owners of the Don Chingonas food truck and Club Elite on North Front Street.
According to Guerra, the incident began when Luna noticed Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office deputies following her Cadillac Escalade on Elk Street. The deputies eventually initiated a stop at Luna’s business on North Front Street.
Officers informed Luna that her license plates did not match her vehicle, stating they were registered to a Toyota truck. During the stop, Luna called Guerra, asking her to bring documentation verifying her legal right to work in the U.S. and vehicle registration as officers began questioning her origin.
Guerra arrived with Luna’s driver’s license, passport, social security card, and employment authorization document along with vehicle registration information. She told the Rocket Miner she heard officers questioning Luna about her background, noting Luna attempted to exercise her right to remain silent regarding those questions.
Despite Guerra ‘s attempts to show the deputies the documents, she was told to stay in her truck and they informed the couple Luna had an “immigration hold.”
“I told them, ‘No she doesn’t. She has permission to work here. She has a normal life here. She is here legally. Her ducks are in a row,’” Guerra told the Rocket Miner.
The officers reportedly responded, “We have to detain her for now.”
“You’re going to destroy my family,” Guerra recalled telling the officers before they took Luna into custody.
Sheriff’s office statement
Jason Mower, Public Information Officer for the Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office, stated the stop was initiated solely due to the registration discrepancy.
“The plate was issued to a truck, not the passenger vehicle it was attached to,” Mower said. “Our office initiated and conducted the stop, and it was not a joint operation with ICE.”
Mower added that during the stop, Luna did not produce a Wyoming driver’s license or valid identification. While she was issued verbal warnings for the registration and licensing issues — both of which are citable offenses — a routine records check changed the course of the interaction.
“The deputy contacted ICE, who advised that the driver did not have authorization to be in the United States and requested that she be detained for alleged immigration violations,” Mower said. “The individual does not have legal status, which is why ICE requested that we detain her on their behalf.”
Documentation and advocacy
In a conversation with the Rocket Miner on Wednesday, Jan.14, Sweetwater County Treasurer Mark Cowan confirmed a clerical error regarding the license plates on Luna’s black Cadillac Escalade.
“What happened is we had a new clerk actually grab the wrong plate,” Cowan said, noting the new plates with 4P indicate a passenger vehicle and the 4T indicates a truck. “This is 100% a mistake on our part.”
Cowan added under normal circumstances, this would be an easy fix, but realizing the vehicle owner is being detained by ICE, he acknowledged the mix-up has made a big impact.
The Rocket Miner also reviewed a copy of an I-797 Notice of Action presented by Guerra, which indicates an approval for employment authorization valid from May 2025 through May 2030. Guerra noted that while Luna previously had to renew this authorization annually, their attorney had recently secured a five-year extension.
Rosa Reyna-Pugh, a local immigration advocate and member of the Rock Springs Main Street/URA Board, reviewed the documents and described the situation as a “red flag” for the community.
“She’s a local business owner, an employer, and a neighbor, yet she was treated as a threat,” Reyna- Pugh said. “When enforcement targets people like her, it doesn’t just harm one individual; it destabilizes families, affects employees, and weakens the local economy.”
Community response
As Luna remains in detention — reportedly being moved to a facility in Colorado — the Rock Springs community has begun to mobilize. Guerra said she has been overwhelmed by messages of support and offers of donations from people she doesn’t even know.
“We are heartbroken,” Guerra said. “It feels like a huge piece of our family has been torn apart, but hundreds of people are messaging us. They’ve given us hope.”
The Rocket Miner has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment and is awaiting a response. The family’s immigration attorney, Sharon Preston of Ogden, Utah, could not be reached for comment as of press time.
This story was published on Jan. 17, 2026.