COSTILLA COUNTY, Colo. (WKRC) — Four law enforcement officers in Colorado’s Costilla County Sheriff’s Office and a former deputy are facing several charges, including official misconduct, corpse abuse and assault, reports PEOPLE.com.
Four of the men charged make up the team of seven officers at the sheriff’s office, according to the Associated Press, including Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez; his son, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez; Undersheriff Cruz Soto; and Deputy Roland Riley. Former deputy Keith Schultz was also charged.
Charges stem from two different incidents. The first incident occurred in October 2024 after a man found a human skull, teeth and other remains on a property and reported it to the sheriff’s office. Schultz was dispatched to the scene and said he would return for the remains. He returned with Sheriff Sanchez, but the man said they only took the skull and left the other remains behind.
According to court documents, the remains that Schultz and Sheriff Sanchez did retrieve also “had no markings or labelling describing the items, the date or location of collection, the identity of the collector, or the chain of custody related to the evidence, and had no tape or seals to protect the integrity of the evidence.”
As a result, Schultz and Sanchez were charged with official misconduct and corpse abuse.
The second incident involved Soto, Riley and Caleb Sanchez, who are accused of tasing a man at the sheriff’s office in February. The man was reportedly having a mental health crisis and was tased and left with broken ribs after he tried to leave the office when law enforcement said he should “voluntarily” go to the hospital. The man later told investigators no one had said he wasn’t free to leave the office, and no charges were requested against him.
In that incident, Soto faces charges of failing to intervene, failure to report use of force, third-degree assault and official misconduct. Riley and Caleb Sanchez were charged with second- and third-degree assault.
“I cannot and will not ignore violations of the trust that a community should have in their police,” District Attorney Anne Kelly said during a press conference Friday. “No citizen of the San Luis Valley should have any doubts about the integrity of their police force.”
Kelly said all five men had turned themselves in and were expected to post bond.