EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers conducted an operation at construction sites in the Sterling Ranch neighborhood on Thursday morning.
The operation led agents to open fire in a residential area before beginning a search for two people they say were in the country illegally. An ICE spokesperson said the two men had tried to ram ICE officers with a vehicle.
Through hours of on the ground reporting at the scene, KOAA has put together a possible timeline of the ICE operations on Thursday, which also appears to have led to a shelter in place three miles away.
The following information was pieced together through interviews with residents near the Sterling Ranch ICE operation, one man who said he was working at the targeted construction site, and members of the immigrant-advocacy group called Colorado Rapid Response Network.
KOAA obtained exclusive home security video showing one man jumping a fence and hiding in a resident's backyard for hours before entering their home while the family was inside. This happened near the initial ICE operation.
According to a construction site worker who returned trying to get his truck and tools back, the incident began around 8:30 a.m. when ICE officers arrived at a cul-de-sac of new home builds near Poco and Vollmer Roads.
Once ICE officers arrived, construction workers from different job sites began running. It's unclear why these sites were targeted or if multiple men were being targeted by immigration officials.
According to an ICE spokesperson, two men attempted to ram ICE officers with their vehicle, prompting an officer to fire their weapon, shooting at least three times. Home security footage from one street over captured what sounded like three shots being fired at approximately 8:31 a.m.
A homeowner a street over provided me home security video with what sounds like apparent gunshots at 8:31 AM. The timeline matches with what I learned could've been the start of the ICE raid and when shots were fired. You can listen below. Remember, this is unconfirmed. pic.twitter.com/Rzbtn7uzil
— Brett Forrest (@brettforrestTV) August 1, 2025
The same worker from the construction site said one of those two men exited the vehicle and fled on foot before the car sped away. This has not been verified by other sources.
In the home security video, a man can be seen jumping the fence of a Sterling Ranch home and hiding under a barbecue grill cover. Officers were in pursuit and can be seen in the video, but did not notice him jumping the fence. They appeared to be chasing other people running.
A nearby homeowner told me one of the men running from officers jumped her fence and hid under the cover of her grill. In the video, you can see law enforcement just behind the fence. They apparently didn't see the man go into the yard, focused on others running. pic.twitter.com/iEad8i3fat
— Brett Forrest (@brettforrestTV) August 1, 2025
The homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, said the man hid in under their grill for at least two hours before entering their home while they were inside. He was on a cell phone speaking to someone during this time.
The family, in another room, was unaware of his presence as he walked through their house while their grandchild played video games. The two acknowledged each other, but the man largely ignored the child as he sought an exit.
After several minutes inside the residence, the man exited through the front door and got into a vehicle that appeared to be waiting for him, and drove away.
Finally, the man leaves and goes straight to a waiting vehicle outside, which drives away. Again, it's unclear if this is one of the two men ICE was searching for from the vehicle ramming incident. The homeowner says she had to track LEOs down before they searched her home pic.twitter.com/xpVYtJiTGZ
— Brett Forrest (@brettforrestTV) August 1, 2025
The homeowner later had to seek out law enforcement themselves to inform them someone had hid in their home. Only then did officers then conducted a thorough search of the entire home, when the man was already gone.
New information released by ICE officials on Friday revealed new details about the two people ICE labeled as "criminal aliens".
An ICE spokesperson says their teams arrested Francisco Zapata-Pacheco around 2:00 p.m. on July 31; the group claims he was the man in the passenger seat of the vehicle that allegedly attempted to ram ICE officers.
It remains unclear if the man hiding from law enforcement captured in the home security video is one of the two suspects ICE had sought.
According to an ICE spokesperson, Zapata-Pacheco was taken to the Aurora Ice Detention Facility on Friday, and is cooperating with officers.
Zapata-Pacheco will remain in ICE custody pending a trial and criminal proceedings. ICE officials have not told us what criminal charges, if any, Zapata-Pacheco was facing before the arrest.
ICE says the other man they are looking for is Jose Mendez-Chavez. ICE says Mendez-Chavez is in the country illegally and from Mexico. They also say he is a convicted child abuser and has convictions for domestic violence and illegal reentry on multiple occasions.
The ICE spokesperson says Mendez-Chavez has been removed from the country six times.
You can view the ICE statement below:
ICE arrested Francisco Zapata-Pacheco at approximately 2 p.m. July 31. He was the passenger in the vehicle used to attack officers and is cooperating with law enforcement officials. He will remain in ICE custody pending the immigration and criminal proceedings.
Jose Mendez-Chavez remains at large; he is an illegal alien from Mexico. This convicted child abuser also has convictions for domestic violence and for illegal reentry on multiple occasions. He knows he’s not supposed to be here, since we’ve removed him six times previously.
It is despicable that Colorado Rapid Response network would show up in defense of an alien who has abused children and attempted to injure our officers. Our brave ICE law enforcement officers are facing an 830% increase in assaults against them as they carry out operations due to the misinformation activist groups spread. Mendez was not an ‘innocent victim’ he is an abuser who plays the system and is now wanted for assault on a federal officer.
The investigation remains active.
News 5 has reached out to the Colorado Rapid Response Network for comment on ICE's statement, and is awaiting a response.
On scene at Sterling Ranch on Thursday, members of the Colorado Rapid Response Network noted they have been trained to observe and document ICE operations to ensure the law and proper procedure are being followed.
It also remains unclear if the scene at Sterling Ranch led to the shelter in place three miles away in Black Forest, though law enforcement did confirm the two sites were connected.
Through KOAA's reporting, though unconfirmed by ICE, the alleged vehicle ramming incident and shots fired seem to have occurred at Sterling Ranch before the vehicle may have escaped to Black Forest, prompting the shelter in place and large law enforcement presence.
ICE declined to answer those follow-up questions.
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
Brett can also communicate via encrypted apps like Signal. Due to the sensitive nature of ongoing reporting from federal actions, he is willing to take steps to protect identities.
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