Five former employees of the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office, including the agency’s former sheriff, made their first court appearances yesterday following indictments tied to two separate incidents.
Danny Sanchez and Keith Sanchez are each facing one count of abuse of a corpse along with four counts of official misconduct.
Additional charges have been filed against three other former deputies. Roland Riley and Caleb Sanchez are both charged with assault, while former undersheriff Cruz Soto faces multiple charges, including failure to intervene, assault, and misconduct.
All five men appeared in court out of custody. The group was formally indicted in March, and former Sheriff Danny Sanchez resigned from his position just days after the indictment was announced.
The sheriff’s office is currently under the leadership of Interim Sheriff Joe Smith as the legal proceedings continue.
The next court appearance for all five individuals is scheduled for May 26.
