Grand jury indicts half the officers in a rural Colorado county in criminal misconduct investigation

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DENVER (AP) — Four of the current seven law enforcement officers in a rural Colorado county, including the sheriff, as well as a former deputy have been indicted in an investigation into allegations of misconduct, prosecutors said Friday.

A grand jury indicted Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez and former Deputy Keith Schultz on charges of allegedly mishandling human remains discovered in October 2024, according to court documents. A man who found the remains and reported them to the sheriff's office said Sanchez and Schultz took only the skull and left the other remains behind, including teeth, court documents state.

Two months passed before Schultz wrote a report, saying he left bones in a bag on his desk and went on another call, the documents state. A coroner's official said he received the skull in an unlabeled paper bag from the sheriff's office, the documents state.

Sanchez and Schultz are charged with official misconduct and corpse abuse.

Separately, Undersheriff Cruz Soto, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez — the sheriff's son — and Deputy Roland Riley are charged in connection with the use of a Taser against a man who was having a mental health crisis in February and tried to leave when they insisted he go to the hospital, according to the documents. The man said he was “roughed up” by deputies and was left with broken ribs, according to the indictments.

Soto was charged with failing to intervene, failure to report use of force, third-degree assault and official misconduct, according to court documents. Caleb Sanchez and Riley were charged with second- and third-degree assault.

In announcing the indictments, 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly said she’s committed to investigating and prosecuting crimes no matter the offender.

“I cannot and will not ignore violations of the trust that a community should have in their police. No citizen of the San Luis Valley should have any doubts about the integrity of their police force,” Kelly said at a news conference Friday evening.

A person who answered the phone Friday at the sheriff's office said there are seven law enforcement officials on staff. The person offered no immediate comment but said a statement would be posted online.

Phone numbers listed for Danny Sanchez, Soto and Riley did not work. Caleb Sanchez did not have a listed number. An unidentified person who answered a number for Schultz referred The Associated Press to an attorney, Peter Comar. The AP left a message Friday for Comar seeking comment.

Kelly said all five turned themselves in to authorities. She said they were expected to post bond Friday and be released.

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Associated Press reporter Mead Gruver contributed to this report.