Colorado sheriff’s office loses more than half its staff as officers face charges ranging from abuse of a corpse to excessive force

A sheriff’s office in rural Colorado has lost more than half the people employed there after four out of the seven officers were indicted by a judge for a variety of offences including abuse of a corpse.

News of the charges brought against the Costilla County officers was released by the Twelfth Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Colorado on Friday, March 27. According to People, the four officers arrested were County Sheriff Danny Sanchez, Undersheriff Cruz Soto, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez, (the sheriff’s son), and Deputy Roland Riley. One former officer, a Deputy by the name of Keith Schultz was also arrested. 

The charges brought against them included official misconduct, abuse of a corpse, (something which seems to happen more than it should in Colorado) assault, and more. All of the men turned themselves in and were also expected to post bond. However, it leaves the Castillo County Sheriff’s office with only three out of its seven officers.

What’s going on in Castillo County?

So what exactly is going on in this particular Sheriff’s office? What did these officers allegedly do? According to the court documents the first charge of corpse abuse relates to a case from 2024 in which a man discovered human remains at a mountainous property. Deputy Schultz arrived at the scene but soon left only to return with Sheriff Sanchez later. The man who reported the incident claimed that the two officers only took the skull, leaving the rest of the remains behind.

The remains were also not cared for with the evidence bag missing “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.”

A separate incident a while later saw Soto, Caleb and Riley accused of using a taser on a man having a mental health crisis. The man claimed that “no one told him he was under arrest or not free to leave.” The officers had insisted that he go to the hospital voluntarily, however, when he tried to leave he was “tased and roughed up.” The man claimed to have suffered broken ribs as a result of his treatment from the deputies.

On Friday District Attorney Anne Kelly said she “cannot and will not ignore violations of the trust that a community should have in their police,” during a press conference. “No citizen of the San Luis Valley should have any doubts about the integrity of their police force.” A press release from the DA’s office also reiterated that it is “committed to investigating and prosecuting violations of Colorado law, regardless of who the offender is and what title they hold.”