Four of seven law enforcement officers in Costilla County, Colorado, including the county sheriff, were indicted by a grand jury on criminal misconduct charges, prosecutors said Friday. The indictments cover two separate investigations, one involving allegations about how human remains were handled after they were found in October 2024, and another involving alleged conduct during a February encounter in which a man was having a mental health crisis.
In the remains case, prosecutors said the grand jury indicted Sheriff Danny Sanchez and former Deputy Keith Schultz on charges that include official misconduct and corpse abuse, according to court documents. A man who found the remains and reported them to the sheriff’s office told investigators that Sanchez and Schultz took only the skull and left other remains behind, including teeth, court documents said.
Prosecutors said the court documents also describe a delay after Schultz allegedly left remaining bones, including a claim that Schultz wrote a report two months later stating that he left bones in a bag on his desk and went on another call. A coroner’s official said he received the skull in an unlabeled paper bag from the sheriff’s office, according to the documents.
In the separate Taser case, prosecutors said Undersheriff Cruz Soto, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez—the sheriff’s son—and Deputy Roland Riley were charged in connection with the use of a Taser against a man during a mental health crisis in February. Prosecutors said the man tried to leave when deputies insisted he go to the hospital, and the indictments described the man saying he was “roughed up” by deputies and was left with broken ribs.
Prosecutors said Soto was charged with failing to intervene, failure to report use of force, third-degree assault and official misconduct, according to court documents. The documents said Caleb Sanchez and Riley were charged with second- and third-degree assault.
District Attorney Anne Kelly announced the indictments and said at a news conference that she is committed to investigating and prosecuting crimes regardless of the offender. Kelly said, “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,” according to the AP report.
Prosecutors said all five defendants turned themselves in to authorities. The report said they were expected to post bond Friday and be released.
At the sheriff’s office, a person who answered the phone said there are seven law enforcement officials on staff. The person offered no immediate comment and said a statement would be posted online, and phone numbers listed for Danny Sanchez, Soto and Riley did not work, the report said. An unidentified person who answered a number for Schultz referred The Associated Press to an attorney, Peter Comar; the AP said it left a message seeking comment.