A Costilla County grand jury indicted five members of the county sheriff’s office March 26, charging the sheriff, his son, the undersheriff, and two deputies with crimes ranging from corpse abuse to felony assault.
The indictments cover two separate incidents. Sheriff Danny Sanchez and former Deputy Keith Schultz each face five counts of official misconduct and one count of corpse abuse for their handling of unidentified human remains discovered at Wild Horse Mesa in 2024. According to the indictment, the two collected a human skull in a paper grocery bag, left it unsecured, and never returned for the rest of the remains. Teeth were lost.
The second incident occurred in February 2026, when Undersheriff Cruz Soto, Sgt. Caleb Sanchez — the sheriff’s son — and Deputy Roland Riley responded to a call involving a county resident in a mental health crisis. Soto faces two counts of failure to intervene, two counts of failure to report use of force, and one count of third-degree assault. He also faces four counts of official misconduct. Caleb Sanchez and Riley each face second- and third-degree assault charges for their roles in the same confrontation.
In July 2025, 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly publicly raised concerns about the department. That September, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation swept the sheriff’s evidence storage room and removed more than 1,000 pieces of evidence — some dating to 1976. Investigators have continued collecting misconduct reports from county residents.
“Restoring and maintaining public trust must always start with accountability,” Kelly said. Assistant Attorney General Christian Champaign assisted in obtaining the indictments.
Five arrest warrants have been issued. The investigation is ongoing.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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