The sheriff was charged with abuse of a corpse, the deputies were charged
A grand jury indicted a Colorado sheriff, a deputy sheriff and three current and former sheriff’s office employees on multiple charges, including torture and assault.
Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez and former deputy, Keith Schultzeach is charged with one count of abuse of a corpse in connection with human remains in the Wild Horse Mesa area in October 2024, the Twelfth District Attorney’s Office in Colorado said in a Friday, March 27, news release.
The charges against Sanchez and Schultz published online by the Colorado Judicial Branch allege that both men “unlawfully, maliciously and knowingly, without lawful authority or court order, handled the body or remains of any person in a manner likely to offend the common feelings of the family.”
The sheriff and Schultz were also charged with five counts of official misconduct in connection with the remains, according to the district attorney’s office.
Their lawsuits detail how Sanchez and Schultz responded when a local resident found a skull and “silver-colored teeth” along with other remains on his property.
On Oct. 2, 2024, Sanchez and Schultz “returned only the skull but left all the remains,” the lawsuits state.
A resident of the area testified in August 2025 about how Sanchez and Schultz allegedly handled the bones.
In addition to Sanchez and Schultz, the Costilla County Undersheriff Cruz Soto and Sanchez’s son, Sgt Caleb Sanchezwere charged stemming from an alleged “unlawful use of force” incident involving a mentally ill person on February 3, prosecutors said.
Another deputy, Roland RileyHe was also charged with this incident, according to him.
Soto’s case charges him with two counts of failure to intervene and one count of third degree assault. Caleb and Riley were charged with second-degree and third-degree assault, their indictments said.
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After being indicted, Danny resigned as an officer, KUSA-TV reported.
It is unclear whether Danny, Schultz, Soto, Caleb or Roland have retained attorneys to comment on their behalf.
In response to a request for comment from Us WeeklyCostilla County confirmed via email on March 30 that Danny had resigned.
The district also said Soto, Caleb and Riley “have been placed on administrative leave while the district conducts an investigation.”
Of the three remaining officers who were “not involved in the DA’s investigation,” one of them resigned, according to the district.
The Associated Press reported that Twelfth District Attorney Anne Kelly, speaking at a March 27 news conference about the charges, said “I cannot and will not ignore the violation of trust that the public has in their police officers.”
The charges against Danny and four other men “followed an extensive investigation” that began after Costilla County residents made reports of alleged misconduct, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
The Costilla County Board of Commissioners was scheduled to meet the morning of March 30 to discuss the appointment of a new county sheriff, according to a public notice.
Deputy Joe Smith has been appointed sheriff, the county has confirmed Us by email.
